Arrow season 2 revamped
by Writing Avenger 2016
Summary: I did enjoy season 2 and think its the best season of the show. this is just introducing a few things that i think will enhance the story both now and later on. Still the great story and characters you know.
1. Prologue

Arrow season 2 revamped

His name, is Oliver Queen. For five years he had been stranded on a hellish island with only one goal; survive. When he finally returned, he came back with a mission. To save his city.

And he failed.

Malcolm Merlyn had succeeded in using an earthquake machine to destroy the run off section of the city known as the Glades. The quake killed countless people, including Oliver's best friend, Tommy.

That broke him, more than Malcolm Merlyn ever could. After that, he fled the city in shame and defeat. He returned to the island that had made him into who he was. The island that took so much from him, but gave him so much in return. Most of all, it gave him the ability to survive. It was only after his close friends John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, came to find him that he knew he had to return home. Home to save his company from falling into the hands of a lucrative business woman named Isabel Roshev. Home to be with his mother, who was facing prosecution for her involvement in the undertaking.

Once he got back, he was faced with questions concerning the methods of his vigilante persona. He couldn't continue to fight as a hooded hero knowing his best friend died thinking he was a murderer. With an altercation with copy-cat vigilantes who carried out similar work to his own, only without his level of restraint and care for human life, he found he could save the city, and not take the lives of those he fought.

With this new resolve, he set out on his new mission to save Starling City from those who would wish ill will upon it. Not wanting to go by "The Hood" anymore, Oliver decided to take up a new moniker. One Malcolm Merlyn gave to him a long time ago as a joke, but one he would use as a title to inspire hope in the people of this city: Green Arrow.

 **This is just a little prologue for the story since the changes i have in mind don't come in until episode 2. just a little something to get ya hyped.** **hope you enjoy the story.**


	2. Identity part 1

Chapter 1: Identity Part 1

It seemed like a normal night in Starling City. The streets were filled with the rush of cars cruising down the highway and the chatter of its citizens talking to one another about their common problems and interests. It was one of the few peaceful moments the city had seen in months.

That silence was broken with the sound of police sirens blaring across the night sky. An intense police car chase had broken between officers of the Starling City police department, and a group of three criminals that had robbed a small pawn shop in the glades that was damaged by the quake. The chase had been going on for nearly ten minutes at this point, passing several city blocks. Their chase had sent them into a section of the glades that was hit more heavily by the quake that others. It had finally gotten to a point where one of crooks that was in the back had gotten out an automatic rifle and started shooting at the police car following them. In retaliation, the officer on the passenger side took out his sidearm and returned fire.

This whole ordeal was being viewed by a man in a green hood armed with a bow and arrow perched on a rooftop. With the enemy car in his sights, he drew an arrow from his quiver and, once he was sure the projectile would hit its target, released it. The arrow flew through the air, connecting with the rubber tire of the crooks vehicle. With the tire out, the car swerved out of control and ran dear on into a building that was under reconstruction. A woman who was walking by saw the oncoming vehicle and jumped out of the way before it collided with the wall. As the crooks got out stumbling from the collision, one had a sudden idea and grabbed the girl as the cops pulled up.

"Follow us and she dies!" the crook shouted as the three of them went inside.

The cops decided to head around the building and go in the back as above them, the man in the green hood fired another arrow with a zip line attached at the wall of the building and zipped across it towards the building.

Inside the building, the crooks continued through the building with the woman screaming all the way through.

"Will you shut up!" the thug carrying her shouted, causing her to stop shouting. "Look lady, you behave yourself long enough for us to get out of here, and you'll get out of here in one piece."

"Funny," a booming voice called out spooking the three crooks and the woman. "I was about to say the same thing to you."

"Who's there?" one crook shouted aiming his gun around the room. "Show yourself!"

Before any of them could react, the gun of the crook that last spoke was shot out of his hand. The three looked to see an arrow wedged into the gun. The three looked up to see standing on an unfinished floor, a man in a green hood aiming a bow and arrow at them.

"I thought you were dead." The disarmed goon shouted in disbelief.

"You thought wrong" the Hooded man responded before firing an arrow into his shoulder causing him to fall to the ground in pain. The goon holding the hostage threw her to the ground as he and his companion opened fire on the man in the hood. The hooded man ran across the floor avoiding the oncoming gunfire until the amount of floor under him had run out. He quickly jumped from the floor he was on to the ground below, firing two arrows at once. One disarming one guy and one piercing the others shoulder causing him to fall to the ground. As the hooded man landed, the final crook ran towards him swinging one fist after another. The hooded man used both his free hand and his bow to block each of his blows. He then delivered a right cross to the jaw, and then knocked him out using his bow. Once all his opponents were down, the hooded man walked over to the woman the crooks took hostage. The woman looked up to see her rescuer. She had heard reports of a hooded vigilante attacking the wealthy a few months back, but she couldn't believe that this was the same man they were talking about.

"Are you alright?" he asked offering a hand up. Reluctantly, she took it.

"Yeah." She responded shakily as she stood up. "T-thank you."

"Not a problem." The vigilante responded with a slightly visible smile on his face. Just then he heard cops coming in from the back entrance. He quickly made his way to the front entrance.

"Wait!" the woman called out. The hooded man stopped for a moment. "What's your name?"

The hooded man turned his head to face her.

"It's Green Arrow."

With that, he made his way outside and fired a replink arrow at a nearby building zipping away. Leaving the woman surprised as the police finally made it inside to arrest the men.

…

Back at the somewhat dubbed 'Arrow Cave', Oliver Queen had just returned from his rounds of vigilante for the night. He was greeted by the friendly faces of his partners in crime fighting, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak.

"Nice work out there." Felicity complimented as Oliver put up his bow.

"Thanks." Oliver responded.

"Looks like crusade 2.0 is off to a great success." Diggle noted. "Word about 'Green Arrow's' work is spreading across the city."

"In a good way I hope." Oliver joked somewhat.

"From some yes." Diggle answered. "Others though…"

"Like the police?" Oliver guessed.

Diggle just nodded.

"Guess I shouldn't be too surprised." Oliver commented.

Diggle was about to say something, but Oliver's phone went off. Oliver was quick to answer it when he saw it was his sister, Thea.

"Hey." Oliver answered.

 _"Hey. Are you near the club?"_ Thea asked.

Um," Oliver hesitantly answered since his base of operations was directly under the 'Verdant' Club that Thea (and he previously) owned. "Yeah I'm close."

 _"Good Because I need a ride to the police station."_

"The police station? Why?"

 _"It's Roy."_

…

Roy Harper was currently leaving police custody at the Starling City Police Department. After the vigilante saved his life from a revenge seeking psychopath a year ago, he had tried taking on street crime in the Glades. And more often than not, it got him into trouble with the police. This was one of those times. He was then greeted by Oliver and Thea as he walked out of a police interrogation room.

"What happened?" Thea asked looking at his bruised face. "Are you hurt?"

"Fender bender." Roy shrugged off.

"He totaled his car," District Attorney Laurel Lance answered. "Playing Hood JR."

"At least it wasn't my car." Roy retorted.

"Don't even." Thea interjected. "I've already called an attorney-"

"That won't be necessary." Laurel interrupted. "We're not pressing charges. As long as he stops looking for trouble."

"Might as well ask him to stop breathing." Thea responded.

"I'll try and talk to him." Oliver offered.

"Ask him if he knows anything about the vigilante." Laurel asked surprising Oliver. "He's obviously formed some kind of connection with him maybe it goes both ways."

"I don't think the Hood would be someone to have a groupie." Oliver confessed still a bit off put by her request.

"That's the thing." Laurel responded. "We don't know anything about him except that whenever he shows up, all hell breaks loose. It has to end."

With that Laurel walked off and Oliver went over to speak with his sister's boyfriend.

"Thea, could you ask Mr. Diggle to bring the car around?" Oliver asked.

"I'll always remember you fondly." Thea said sarcastically as she left the two alone.

"Save the speeches." Roy started. "Your Ex-Girlfriend already made one on me. Still, no effect."

"I used to be a lot like you Roy." Oliver shared.

"I doubt that." Roy countered. "I spent more time in the back of cop cars than limos."

With that, he tried to walk away, but Oliver grabbed his arm and turned around to face him.

"The world doesn't work anymore." He explained. "It broke a long time ago, but it was like you were the only one who noticed. That makes you angry."

With that he let go of Roy's arm.

"And you're afraid that that anger is gonna burn you up inside if you have to live in the world one second longer knowing that you could do something to fix it. I think it's gonna put you in a hospital. Or worse."

"Well I'll take worse." Roy responded. "It's better to be dead than in a hospital these days. Right?

That last comment confused Oliver.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Been to the Glades Memorial lately." Roy responded.

"No but I didn't read it was damaged in the quake."

"It wasn't. The medicine that FEMA's been sending to the hospital is being hijacked."

That really caught Oliver off guard.

"So if they don't resupply, they'll be forced to close." Roy finished.

"By who?" Oliver asked.

"I don't know." Roy answered sounding angrier. "The doctors and nurses are already bailing on the place and the cops. The cops barely venture that deep into the glades. So I guess that leaves only me!"

Roy noted how reserved Oliver seemed at the moment.

"What does it take to make you angry?" He asked before walking off. Leaving Oliver alone.

He didn't know how to stop Roy from getting himself hurt, but he did know his next mission, to stop the hijackers and get that medicine to the hospital.

…

The next day, Oliver and Diggle payed a visit to Glades Memorial. Sufficed to say, it was in about as bad a shape as Roy had said as the halls were filled with patients. All of whom looked like they were suffering.

"Survived the quake, and then they end up here." Diggle commented. "From one hell to the next."

"Yeah, whoever's been stealing from here," Oliver added. "They won't be for much longer."

After completing their 'inspection' they preceded to leave. Only to find that someone was holding a press conference right outside the hospital.

"This city is failing on all counts," he stated to the reporters and supporters present.

"Who's that?" Oliver asked.

"Sebastian Blood," Diggle answered. "The Alderman I told you about. Not too shy about sharing his opinions."

"Which are?"

"Which are that the Glades have been abandoned. And no one gives a damn about these people."

"He hasn't met us yet." Oliver responded as the two walked out the front door.

"We cannot stand by while the doctors, on the other side of those doors," Blood continued. "Are working with the bare minimum of resources because the police department already sees us as a lost cause."

This seemed to get Oliver's attention.

"Meanwhile, thieves are seeking to make a quick buck off the misery of the Glades."

It was at that moment that Blood caught notice of Oliver's presence.

"Oliver Queen isn't it?" Blood asked, earning a nod from Oliver.

"Alderman," Oliver greeted.

"What brings you to Glades Memorial Mr. Queen?" the Alderman asked. "I assume someone of your means could afford the best medical treatment money can buy."

This started to rattle Oliver a bit.

"And I can assure you you're not gonna find that here."

"That's wrong sir." Oliver finally spoke. "The people of the Glades have suffered too much not to have access to basic medical services."

"Well that's very compassionate of you to say," Blood complimented walking closer to him. "Although I wonder where your families concern for its fellow citizens was when they ordered the construction of the earthquake machine that killed five hundred and three people."

This caused a massive uproar among Blood's supporters, and Oliver took this as a que to leave.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to atone for my families' culpability in this tragedy." Oliver reassured as he and Diggle started to walk off.

"Well I'm sure the people of the Glades I represent will sleep better knowing that." Blood responded. "If they still had a place to sleep."

That last comment got Oliver's attention again, causing him to turn and face Blood.

"If their homes hadn't crumbled around them," he continued. "If their stores and businesses' hadn't been condemned!"

With that, Oliver left, with the sounds of Starling's citizens berating him.

"Spare us your mercy Mr. Queen!" Blood shouted as Oliver got into his car. "You've done enough for this city already!"

As the two drove off, they were still being surrounded by protestors and reporters. One such protestor used his sign to smash the back window of Oliver's car. He was unharmed, but he knew he had to take action against this crisis. As both Oliver Queen, and Green Arrow.

…

That night, Oliver returned to his base of operations to prepare for his new mission.

"Never thought I'd day this, but I'm actually getting more work done in the basement of an abandoned steel factory than in the corner office of a high rise." Felicity nonchalantly commented. No doubt due to Oliver moving her from her normal job in the IT department to his secretary so they could be in close contact with each other about their nightly activities. (Don't take it that way.)

"What do we got?" Oliver asked ignoring her comment.

"FEMA is shipping 100,000 units of medical grade opium to Glades Memorial." Felicity answered.

"When?"

"Truck is scheduled to leave the FEMA depot in 20 minutes."

"Not if these thieves have anything to say about it." Diggle remarked.

"Bad luck for them," Oliver responded. "I have something to say about it."

With that, he suited up and headed out.

…

At the FEMA depot, two men dressed full in black came in on motorcycles and started opening fire on the men set to deliver the supplies. Once most of them were dead, they got off and made their way for the trucks. They saw one driver left and prepared to shoot.

"No. Please." The driver pleaded.

Before they could open fire-

"Down!" he heard a voice call out.

He obeyed and it was revealed that Green Arrow was right behind him. He released two arrows that struck the assailants in the shoulders.

"Make your delivery." He ordered.

The driver acknowledged and made his way to the truck. Before he could open the door however, he was struck in the neck with a knife, effectively killing him. As his dead body fell to the ground, it was revealed that his killer and the mastermind of this theft, was a very familiar enemy.

"The Emerald Archer." The voice of his foe called out.

"China White." Green Arrow observed as the Triad leader rounded the corner of the truck.

"I thought you had perished in the quake." She admitted.

"Disappointed?" he asked in a previously unknown joking manner.

"Hardly," she responded. "I am glad you survived. Now I can pay you back in full for your past interference in my business."

"Hate to break it to you, but your business is going under. Permanently."

He pulled out an arrow and shot it at China White. Before it could make contact however, a second figure came down from a top the trucks and sliced the arrow with what looked like metal claws on his hands.

"I don't think my friend agrees with you." China White responded as Green Arrow slowly backed away from his opponents. "Meet Bronze Tiger. Our new partnership was easily cemented. I was eager to see you dead, and he was eager to kill you."

Not wasting any time, Arrow fired again, only for Bronze Tiger to slice the arrow. He tried firing multiple times, but each shot was cut to pieces by Bronze Tiger.

"No kill shots?" Tiger asked while China White was getting into one of the trucks. "I was promised a fight. Hope you haven't lost your nerve."

"Find out." Green Arrow challenged.

With that, Bronze Tiger charged towards Green Arrow. He brought one of his claws up to strike, but it was blocked but Green Arrow's bow. He aimed for a low strike, but Arrow deflected that one as well. Bronze Tiger then unleashed a barrage of strikes at intense speed. Green Arrow continued to block each blow as the two combatants moved further through the depot.

The two kept exchanging blows at the sound of police sirens filled the air. Arrow was able to get Bronze Tiger in his grip as police officers approached the two.

"Starling City Police!" an officer shouted as several guns locked onto the two of them. "You're surrounded! Put down your weapons or we will open fire!"

In an instant, Green Arrow ducked as Bronze Tiger sliced at him, breaking open a pipe and shooting steam in his face. Arrow then used this steam as a cover for his escape. Bronze Tiger made his escape as well as the police opened fire on both of them. One of the officers' bullets was able to hit Arrow in the leg as he made his escape. Running out of options, he pulled out one of his flechette's and threw it on the ground to act as a smoke bomb, then fired a replink arrow at a rooftop and zipped up towards it.

Once on the rooftop, he tried walking forward, but the injury in his leg made that difficult.

 _"Oliver?"_ Felicity called. _"Oliver, are you there?" The police band is going crazy."_

"I'm alright." He reassured. "They got away with the shipment. I'm gonna rendezvous with you guys and-"

Before Oliver could finish, a very high pitched sound rang out causing Oliver to fall to his knees and cry out in pain. He was forced to his hands and knees as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"So you're the Hood." A female voice remarked. "Have to say I'm not impressed."

He looked up to see a woman with blonde hair in a black outfit and mask standing over him with a baton in her hand.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm the justice you can't run from." She answered before swinging her baton at his face.

The strike knocked Arrow to the ground. He quickly got back up and faced his fast approaching attacker. She then threw two punches, one after another, but Arrow was quick to deflect them. She then tried to kick at his head, but he ducked under it. She then struck him in the chest with her baton causing him to stagger back, and with his injured leg he was forced to his knee.

She brought her leg up to kick him in the head, but he grabbed it before it could make contact. He then took the opportunity to push the leg forward causing her to fall to the ground. He then got up and drew an arrow from his quiver. The woman looked up in time to see him pointing an arrow at her.

"You gonna kill me?" She asked. "Like you killed Malcolm Merlyn?"

"I'm not a killer." Green Arrow informed.

"We both know that's a lie." The woman shrugged off.

"I'm fighting to save this city." Arrow continued. "I'm assuming you are too."

"Yeah." The woman confirmed getting to her feet. "And that includes saving it from you."

"I have you dead to right." Arrow informed. "You won't even get to reach your sonic device in time."

The woman just smiled.

"What device?" She asked.

With that, she let out a scream that sent out a shockwave that pushed Green Arrow all the way to the other side of the roof, causing him to land on his back. Once the screaming stopped, the woman started to walk over to Arrow. Thinking fast, Arrow rolled off the edge of the building. The woman then ran to the edge to see Green Arrow zipping away on a zip line arrow, leaving her alone and frustrated.


	3. Identity part 2

Back at the arrow cave, Oliver had already begun the process of stitching up his wounds.

"Does it hurt?" Felicity asked concerned.

"Not as much as some things." Oliver responded.

"So the woman you fought," Diggle interrupted. "Any idea what she wanted?"

"She said she wants to save the city." Oliver responded. "From me."

"Another vigilante." Diggle asked.

"Maybe," Oliver answered. "But certainly different from the hoods. She wore a mask and had a sonic… scream."

"Sonic scream?" Felicity asked. "Could you be a bit more specific?"

"She screamed, it made my ears hurt and shot me half was across the rooftop." Oliver clarified.

"Ah. Well it's still crazy that she and the police are more interested in catching you then the drug stealing mobsters." Felicity commented. "Our tax dollars at work."

"The authorities have always gone after the vigilante." Diggle reminded.

"This time was different." Oliver retorted.

"Why because you got your ass kicked by some female vigilante?" Diggle asked.

"Because she got in my way, Dig." Oliver countered getting up out of the chair. "They got in my way. I can't make things better as Oliver Queen, and now I can't make things better as Green Arrow!"

"Hey!" Felicity called. "Go easy on him!"

"It's alright Felicity." Diggle said trying to call off.

"No, it's not." Felicity interrupted before turning back to Oliver. "You don't get to jump down his throat because you happen to be having a lousy week. Ok, you're pissed I get it, but you're not the only one with problems right now!"

"Felicity…" Diggle called again.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you keep bringing up Carly but you're so involved with yourself that you don't realize the look he gets every time you do."

Carly was Diggle's late brother's wife. Some time back Diggle had tried striking up a romance between the two of them, but it seemed things have altered since Oliver was last in town.

"What is she talking about?" Oliver asked turning to Diggle.

"Me and Carly are pulling the pin." He finally admitted. "It happened while you were gone. Truth is it's been happening for a while now."

"Being the vigilante's wingman was a strain." Felicity added, earning a look from Diggle. "He needs to hear this."

"This wasn't just about what we were doing Oliver." Diggle resumed. "This isn't just about you man. I couldn't separate what's going on with me and Carly, and… What went on with my brother."

"Deadshot." Oliver surmised.

Deadshot, AKA Floyd Lotten, was the man who killed Diggle's brother. Ever since learning he was alive after Oliver supposedly killed him, he had wanted to finish him.

"He's still out there." Diggle pressed on. "My brother's killer. Still breathing. And I, uh, guess I couldn't hate him and love her at the same time."

A brief silence filled the room as Oliver processed what his friend had told him.

"See?" Diggle asked. "You are not the only one having trouble reconciling two sides of himself."

With that Diggle left the room, Felicity left shortly after, leaving Oliver alone to contemplate what had been shared with him.

….

At Verdant, Roy was sweeping up the place when Thea came up to him, looking very put off by something.

"Great crowd tonight." Roy noted.

"Now that we're closed, you gonna be starting your second shift?" Thea asked earning a confused look from Roy. "Suicide by Chinese street thugs."

"Do you really want to talk about this again?" Roy asked.

"We never finished talking about it." Thea retorted.

Roy just returned to sweeping.

"I wanted Laurel to arrest you." Thea admitted, causing Roy to look up in surprise.

"You know you're not the first girlfriend to say that to me." Roy scoffed as he got back to sweeping.

"She said I couldn't change you," She continued. "So I'm not going to try to.

Shen then handed him a paycheck and an arrow head. He took both looking confused.

"What, so you're giving me money and a rock?" he asked.

"The check is two week's severance from the club." She explained. "Just because I can't change you doesn't mean I have to let you be in my life until you get yourself killed."

"Roy just scoffed again.

"And my brother gave me that when he came back from the dead." She continued. "He said it was a hosen, some Buddhist thing that symbolizes reconnecting. If you want to reconnect with me, keep the hosen and tear up that check."

"I don't do too well with ultimatums." Roy countered.

"A I don't do all that great with people I love getting hurt. And worse."

With that, she left. Leaving Roy alone facing a near impossible choice.

….

The next day at Queen Consolidated, Oliver sat at his desk awaiting a special guest.

"Your 4:00 is here." Felicity informed walking into his office. "Although I'm not entirely sure why you invited him up to your office."

"Because I need to fix this situation, and there are no cameras or people to throw things at me in here." Oliver answered walking over to greet his guest. "Alderman, thank you for coming."

"Mr. Queen." Sebastian greeted back walking past him towards the window. "This is some view. How small the rest of us must look from up here."

"Ms. Smoak." Oliver called out.

"Yes?" Felicity responded.

"Would you get my guest and I some coffee." He asked.

"You know I would Mr. Queen, but it seems that someone's broken our coffeemaker." Felicity informed before walking out of the room whispering, "violently." Towards Oliver as she left.

"I was surprised you wanted to meet." Blood admitted earning the attention of Oliver.

"As surprised as I was when you turned a frenzied mob on me?" Oliver retorted, sitting down.

"Oh that shouldn't have been too surprising." Blood responded. "My constituents have a lot of anger towards your family."

"They have a right to." Oliver admitted as Sebastian took a seat. "My mother was involved in something…unspeakable. But I'm my own man. And I'm not your enemy."

"You're not a friend." Blood countered. "To me, or the people of the Glades."

"I am hoping to prove otherwise." Oliver offered.

"Mr. Queen, not every problem can be solved with money." Blood spoke. "Real change will never happen until your elitist friends realize that it is morally unacceptable to allow thousands of its fellow citizens to live right down the street but in a third world."

"Then let's show them." Oliver interjected. "I'll host a benefit. Invite some of my 'elitist friends' and then you and I can help them see what needs to be done."

Blood paused, considering his offer.

"People seeing you…" Blood started. "Seeing you stand up, the CEO of Queen Consolidated, taking responsibility and being this cause's public face. That would make a difference."

Oliver then stood up and extended his hand to Blood.

"Then let's make a difference."

Blood then stood up and shook Oliver's hand.

"Listen," Blood then spoke. "I am truly sorry for what happened outside that hospital. Sometimes my emotions get the better of me."

With that, Blood left, leaving Oliver with a sense of accomplishment, feeling that he was finally making things better for the city.

….

The benefit seemed to have been a rousing success. Countless members of Starling Cities elite had shown up to show their support for the people of the glades. Even Laurel Lance had made an appearance. She was walking around the room when Sebastian came up behind her.

"You look like a woman who's looking for someone." He observed as she turned around.

"A friend of mine." She answered turning back around walking forward. "He's throwing this benefit."

"Ah. Oliver Queen." Sebastian let out as he walked with her. "Didn't realize you were friends."

"Very old friends. So you can imagine how I feel about you putting him in the crosshairs of the public opinion."

"For what it's worth I apologized to Oliver for my rhetorical excessiveness. In fact it is that detant which brings us all here tonight."

"So where's Oliver?" Laurel asked looking around the room.

"That is the question I'm asking myself." Sebastian answered taking a sip of his drink.

….

In the elevator, Oliver and Diggle were going up towards where the party was being held.

"We're late." Oliver noted looking at his watch.

"Good news is at least you get to make a dramatic entrance." Diggle joked.

"Oh I'm just lucky that Oliver Queen has a reputation for not showing up on time."

Diggle paused for a second before speaking next.

"You know I've been meaning to tell you it really weirds me out to no end the way you refer to yourself in the third person like that." He told them as the elevator reached its destination.

As the two got out Oliver's cell phone started buzzing. When he saw it was Felicity, he answered it.

"Tell me." He told her walking out of the elevator.

" _I got good news and bad news."_ Felicity informed. _"I hacked into Fema's server, yet another federal offense thank you very much, and was able to find out when the next shipment of pharmaceuticals is taking place."_

"When?"

" _Well that's the bad news. Five minutes ago"_

This was not good news for Oliver.

" _I know this is the definition of sucky timing, but… which suit are you planning on wearing tonight?"_

Oliver hated to admit it, but he knew which suit he would wear tonight, it just wouldn't win favor from the city.

…

Sebastian looked at his watch again coming to the conclusion that Oliver wasn't going to show up tonight.

"Doesn't seem Mr. Queen is going to honor us with his presence this evening." Sebastian noted.

"So where are you going?" Laurel asked as Sebastian started towards the podium.

"To address his guests." Sebastian answered. "It's time they realize what kind of man their host is."

"You're just going to crucify him in the media again?" Laurel questioned in disbelief.

"Crucifixion has such … a bad reputation." Sebastian countered. "The Romans used it to punish people who acted against the public good."

"Alderman…" Laurel said trying to stop him.

Sebastian however just stepped up to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he addressed.

Everyone applauded at his presence.

"Thank you," he replied. "Thank you. But you should hold your applause for Oliver Queen. This evenings charity was his brain child. As such, you can be forgiven for why Mr. Queen isn't with us tonight."

As he kept talking, he walked around to the other side of the podium

"And the answer, I'm afraid, is painfully apparent."

…

Oliver meanwhile was suiting up in his Green Arrow garb and heading out to stop the triad.

…

"He doesn't care. I told Mr. Queen that this city's problems cannot be solved with his money;"

While he was speaking, Laurel decided to step out, unable to hear anymore.

"That he needed to stand up and be counted as someone who cares. So where is he now?"

…

"Lieutenant." An officer called out getting Lieutenant Pike's attention. "We got a hood sight, heading down Lemire Avenue."

"Let's go!" Pike called out.

…

"I don't know where Oliver Queen is, All I know is he isn't here."

…

As the FEMA truck cruised down the street, three figures on motorcycles revved up along side trying to seize it.

…

"This city is dying, and it needs someone to stand up and breathe new hope into it.

…

As the police cars cruised down the street towards where Green Arrow had been sighted, the woman in black that confronted him the other night took note of the direction the cops were heading and followed.

…

"And tonight it is painfully obvious, that that person is not Oliver Queen."

…

After China White, Bronze Tiger, and two goons stopped the truck, they tied up the guard and threw him to the ground.

"If anyone gets in your way," China White addressed the goons in Chinese. "Mow them down."

The goons nodded and made their way to the truck. That's when Green Arrow came riding up on his motorcycle. Arrow then fired one Arrow at the goon getting into the truck, causing a flash bang that made him fall as he rode up to the other three. He drove past them and near a partially repaired building.

"Go!" China White called out to the other goon.

Green Arrow then walked out as his two adversaries came up to him.

"I told you," she said to Bronze Tiger. "On time to die."

…

"Closing in on the vigilante's position." A officer replied over radio.

Several police cars pulled up to a building where Green Arrow was sighted. The woman in black perched herself on a rooftop across from them. Both she and the officers were surprised to find no one there.

"This doesn't make any sense." One officer said walking up to Pike with a tablet in his hand. "This is supposed to be live surveillance."

Pike looked at the footage of Arrow riding past a building.

"Then what the hell is that building doing here?" Pike asked pointing at the building in question. "It was destroyed in the quake."

"Who the hell could be feeding us year old surveillance?"

While the woman in black couldn't hear what they were saying, their body language showed they were upset about something. And she had a pretty good idea why. The Hood wasn't here."

"Damn." She cursed.

…

Back with Green Arrow, he was feeling a bit overpowered having China White and Bronze Tiger circling him. Bonze Tiger struck first from behind. Arrow quickly ducked under it and retaliated. China White then quickly attacked as well, but Arrow deflected that one too. From there it was a barrage of attacks from both parties at him. Arrow was quick enough however to block all of them.

While they were going at it, the other goon was making his way to the truck. Before he could get in though, Diggle in a ski mask came up and slammed the door on him. The goon then got up and tried to fight him off, but Diggle just blocked his attacks and threw him into a dumpster behind dim.

"Healthcare has enough problems without you punks." Diggle joked before climbing into the truck.

Arrow was still fending off China White and Bronze Tiger. He managed to knock China White aside and into a wall so he could focus on Bronze Tiger. Bronze Tiger was able to grab hold of Green Arrow just as Diggle was driving towards them in the truck.

"You're not the only one allowed to bring a friend!" Arrow informed as he broke free and he and Bronze Tiger moved out of the way of the truck.

Seeing her prize getting away, China White sprinted towards the truck and climbed onto the back. Thinking he was safe, Diggle pulled back his mask and called in to his partner.

"I'm clear." He reported.

…

Arrow slowly got up to respond

"That makes one of us." Arrow replied as he saw Bronze Tiger flee into a condemned building.

He then wasted no time going after him. He entered the building slowly, not sure where his opponent would strike from. Everywhere he turned he expected to see him, but only saw the plastic tarps that graced the support beams and walls. Bronze Tiger then struck from behind slicing at Green Arrow before bolting away. Green Arrow reached for his quiver but saw nothing. He then moved out in pursuit.

…

Back on the truck, Diggle kept driving when China White came up on the driver's side window and tried attacking Diggle. Diggle however wouldn't go down so easily and fought back as best as he could while driving. He then was forced to crash into a large pile of garbage, causing China White to fly off.

…

Back with Green Arrow, he continued searching for Bronze Tiger. Tiger quickly came up alongside Arrow and sliced him on the arm, causing him to cry out in pain before he disappeared again. Arrow then pressed on but stopped for a second to gain better understanding of his surroundings. He then quickly spun around, pulling an arrow from his quiver, and fired. Bronze Tiger quickly sliced that arrow to pieces before it touched him.

"Go ahead," he called out. "Waste your arrows."

Arrow continued firing at him as he came closer. One actually made it into his shoulder, but it wasn't enough to stop him from tackling him into a box.

"That hurt," Tiger admitted. "But it won't stop me."

Bronze Tiger then drew his claw back, but Arrow pressed a button on his bow causing the arrow to generate hundreds of volts of electricity through his body before falling to the ground.

"That will." Arrow countered before calling Diggle. "Dig?"

…

" _Diggle!"_

Diggle had just pulled himself out of the truck after crashing it with his gun drawn, but he had no sight of his opponent. China White then struck up from behind and tried to attack, but Dig was quick to block. China kept trying to slice at him, but he kept dodging. Diggle then tried to attack himself, but they were quickly deflected. Diggle tried bunching her put she ducked under it and she quickly punched him in the stomach causing him to kneel over. She then brought her knife overhead ready to finish him off. That's when Green Arrow came riding up on his motorcycle and shot an arrow at her, releasing a rope tying her to a pole. As he pulled up to them, he got off his bike and walked over to them.

"You've changed." She noted. "You would've killed me by now if you hadn't."

"The police can take the shipment the rest of the way." Arrow told Dig as the two started walking away.

"They still won't see you as anything more than the enemy." China told him, causing him to stop and turn around. "You'll never be anything but a criminal to them. Which means you'll never be a hero."

"As long as the city is safe," Arrow finally replied. "It doesn't matter."

With that, Green Arrow left as the police began to arrive to arrest China White and take the shipment to its destination.

…

The following night, Oliver and Diggle were in Oliver's office watching a news report on China White's capture.

"You know I was about to make my move on her," Diggle told him. "Didn't need one of your trick arrows getting in the way."

"Couldn't risk it." Oliver replied. "Where would I be without my 'black driver'?"

Diggle chuckled at that remark as he made his way out the door.

"Diggle." Oliver called out. "I'm sorry about you and Carly."

"Yeah well, couples break up." Diggle told him. "Not everything that happens in Starling City is your responsibility."

"I'm learning that. What I meant was, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, because I should have been. Guess I got wrapped up in my own suffering and… I forgot some other people might be suffering to."

Dig just nodded in response and Oliver simply nodded right back.

"You know we're getting dangerously close to hug territory," Diggle remarked. "So I'm going to fall back. You need a ride?"

"It turns out that being CEO, I actually have some work to do." Oliver reported. "I'll find my own way."

"You always do." Diggle told him before heading out.

As Diggle left, the news kept playing and an interview with Sebastian Blood was playing. Needless to say, he had no kind words for Oliver.

" _Oliver Queen's failure to show up to his own benefit shouldn't surprise anyone."_ Blood stated. _"He's no different than the rest of the Starling City elite who failed to show up when it comes to ending the suffering of those devastated in the glades. Oliver Queen is not a friend of the people of this city"_

It was at that moment when Felicity placed a coffee cup on Oliver's desk. Oliver looked up to see his new secretary's surprise act.

"One." She mouthed before walking off, leaving him sitting there smiling.

…

Later that night, Roy was taking the recycling out to the dumpster. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel he was being watched. On instinct, he spun around and threw his flechette, only for it to be caught by Green Arrow.

"Nice throw." He remarked.

Roy was shocked to see the source of inspiration to fight crime in the Glades standing in front of him.

"I've been looking for you." He told him.

"You need to stop." Arrow ordered.

"You saved my life!" Roy yelled. "Made me realize it… wasn't much of a life. But I could do what others couldn't, or too afraid to do. I could help you save the city."

"I appreciate it, but you're untrained." Arrow informed.

"I can fight." Roy insisted.

"You can take a beating," Arrow corrected. "There's a difference."

"Then teach me!" Roy practically pleaded. "Let me help you."

Arrow was a bit surprised by Roy's insistence of helping him in his crusade. He couldn't let the kid get hurt, but then thought of an alternative.

"Ok." he relented. "You can help me, but not by taking on the Triads of the cops."

"Then how?" Roy asked.

"To do what I do I need intel," Arrow explained. "You can be my eyes and ears in the Glades. That's how you can save the city. And I know how you can start."

"How?"

"There's someone new in town. A woman in black, wears a mask."

His description reminded Roy of someone who looked like that who saved him a week ago.

"Yeah I've seen her around." Roy replied.

"Find out what you can about her." Arrow instructed.

"How do I contact you?" Roy asked.

"Leave that in the alley wall," Arrow replied tossing the flechette back. "And I'll know to contact you."

With that, Arrow turned and left, leaving Roy in the alley. He then picked up the miniature arrow that had been discarded.

"You sure it's alright that I keep this?" Roy asked, only to look up and see the vigilante gone.

…

Inside the club, Roy placed the hosen on the counter in front of Thea

If I want to be with you do I keep that or give it back?" Roy asked trying to recall her instructions. "You were a little unclear."

Needless to say, Thea was a little surprised by this.

"You mean it?" She asked.

"No more fighting." Roy confirmed. "If it's a choice between life with you or life without you, life with you will win every single time. I'm done trying to be a hero."

Thea just replied by kissing him and hugging him, happy that this seemed to be past them. Unaware of the chance Roy had been given to help the Green Arrow save the city, which was soon to face its darkest days yet.


	4. Broken Dolls part 1

Days later, Roy was taking the trash out to the back dumpster. As he was instructed, he placed the flechette in the wall to signal Green Arrow. As he turned to head back inside, he saw Green Arrow standing in front of him, much to his surprise.

"Woah." Roy remarked. "You're quick."

"What did you find out?" Arrow asked.

"She's a vigilante like you." Roy reported. "Sticks to the Glades mostly. Has a particular fixation on defending those most damaged by the quake."

Green Arrow took in every word more interested in this mystery woman than ever.

"Apparently people are calling her 'the Black Canary'." Roy continued. "Guess the color coding thing is going around."

"Hmm, guess so." Arrow remarked.

…

That same night, a young woman was walking through the Glades on her way home. As she did so, she was unaware of two larger men following her from behind. She heard the footsteps behind her and started walking faster. She about to run when the two men grabbed hold of her by the arms. She screamed, demanding them to let her go as they tried going for her purse. Before they got a chance to grab it, a baton flew out of nowhere and hit one of the men in the face, knocking him back. This was enough of an opening for the woman to pull herself free and run off.

"Don't you boys have anything better to do than pick on innocent girls?" a new voice taunted.

The two men turned to see a woman in black outfit, jacket, and mask, spinning a second baton in her hand. The Black Canary.

"Maybe you'd like to try that with someone who can fight back." She offered.

One of the men chuckled in response.

"If you insist." The man replied pulling out a knife.

Black Canary smirked at this as the man walked towards her. He took a swing at her with his knife, but she ducked under it and struck him in the chest with her baton. She then struck him across the face, knocking him to the ground as the second man came up, picking a nearby pipe up off the ground. He hit it against her baton, knocking it out of her hand. He continued swinging the pipe at her, causing her to back step away repeatedly. She then kicked the pipe out of his hands before kicking him in the chest repeatedly. He stumbled back a bit near the first man still on the ground. Canary ran towards the second man, jumping on the back of the downed first man and punched the second man in the face as she descended.

As she looked over the fallen mugger, the first one started to get back up ready to stab her. Suddenly, an arrow shot out and hit him in the shoulder, taking him out. Canary looked behind her to see the downed opponent, than back up to see Green Arrow standing on a rooftop looking down on her.

"Missed one." He commented.

"I had it under control!" She shouted.

"I don't doubt that." Arrow replied. "You have impressive skills."

"Just what I need." Canary lamented. "The Hood as my vigilante pep squad."

"These days I prefer Green Arrow." He corrected.

Canary chuckled at that revelation.

"Oh like that's any better." She replied.

Green Arrow shot a grappling arrow and slid down as Black Canary reclaimed her batons and placed them on her belt.

"What are you even doing here?" Canary asked as Green Arrow landed on the ground.

"I thought we should talk." Arrow explained.

"I don't know I think everything that needs to be said was said last time we met." Canary remarked. "We both have our ways of saving the city; mine just doesn't involve a body count."

"The copycat hoods are alive." Arrow reminded. "So are China White and her accomplice."

"And what about the other 503 people that were killed in the quake?" Canary countered.

Arrow was taken aback by that remark.

"I tried to save them." Arrow tried to defend.

"Tried isn't good enough!" Canary threw back furious before collecting herself. "I saw buildings crumble, livelihoods destroyed, friends die. And where were you? Off fighting a pointless duel with Malcom Merlyn!"

Arrow just stood there, feeling utterly defeated by Black Canary's words. Both were so wrapped up in their little debate that they didn't even hear the approaching sirens.

"You know there was a time when I admired you. I used to think you wore that hood because you were a hero." She told him. "… but now I see you wear it to hide the fact that you're a coward."

"Freeze!" a cop called out getting out of the car, earning the heroes attention. "Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!"

Thinking fast, Green Arrow pulled out an arrow and fired it at the base of the cop car. The arrow released a gas, covering Arrow and Canary's escape.

As they rounded a corner, Canary jumped onto a nearby fire escape and started climbing up.

"I'm not the bad guy!" Arrow called out, causing Canary to turn back.

"Of course you are." Canary threw back before climbing away.

Arrow was just left standing there, contemplating everything he had heard.

…

The next day, former SCPD detective, now beat cop, Quinten Lance, was using some available free time to purchase a hot dog from a local cart. Before he could enjoy it however, a call came out on his radio.

" _All units, 1078 at Second and Fletcher. Please respond."_

"Lance, patrol Delta Charlie 52, 10-60, officer responding. Over" Lance called back discarding his hot dog and getting into his car.

" _Negative DC-52"_ the radio replied. _"Disregard 10-78 and resume patrol."_

"According to whose orders?" Lance asked.

" _Lieutenant Pike."_

…

Within a few minutes, Lance made his way down to where the crime scene was, skirting his way through fellow officers to get inside.

"Bill what is going on here, huh?" Lance asked one of the detectives present. "This is my beat. Why did Pike wave me off this?"

"Quinten, it's under control." Bill tried to reassure as Quinten walked past.

"What is under control?" Quinten demanded.

As he passed by several other officers, he came up to the reason they were all here. A dead woman dressed in a fluffy white dress hung up on metal bars. The sight frightened Quinten to his core. Not the image itself, but the fact that he recognized it. All too well.

"That's Barton Mathis." Quinten barely threw out.

"That seems to be what the M.O. indicates." Bill confirmed.

"He's doing consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights." Quinten tried to rationalized.

"Not anymore." Bill corrected. "The quake split open a section of Iron Heights. Mathis was among the escapees. The brass want to avoid a panic, so they're keeping it quiet."

"Are they keeping it quiet from me too?" Quinten asked.

"Come on man," Bill replied. "Pike knows what happened last time. The man got in your head."

"Yeah, and I caught him." Quinten countered. "And no one knows Mathis better."

"And I've got all your notes and files." Bill informed. "Pikes order. If you go anywhere near this, he's going to have you arrested for obstruction."

Quinten sighted angrily at this before walking off in a huff.

…

That night at the arrow cave, Diggle and Oliver were sparring on some mats.

"So how did it go with the female vigilante last night?" Diggle asked.

"Horribly." Oliver replied. "She's still insistent that the vigilante is a big a threat to the city as its actual criminals. Because I couldn't save everyone in the quake."

"Must have lost someone close to her." Diggle surmised.

"Must have." Oliver replied.

Diggle tried grabbing Oliver, but he caught his arm and threw him to the ground.

"I'm stuck on what to do." Oliver lamented letting up on Diggle. "I can't let the city get overrun with vigilantes."

"Is it there's another vigilante out there that bothers you," Diggle asked getting up himself. "Or is it the fact that she wants to take you down as well."

Oliver paused for a moment.

"Doing this job is hard enough, especially with the police after me." Oliver told him. "But now someone who is convinced that I'm as much to blame for what happened as Merlyn."

"Maybe you just need to show her that you've not the villain she thinks you are." Diggle suggested.

"Sounds like an interesting idea," Oliver admitted. "I just wish I knew how."

At that moment, Felicity's cell phone started ringing. She picked it up and, seeing who was calling, answered it.

"Hi detective." She greeted.

Both Diggle and Oliver looked at each other in surprise and intrigue.

…

Later that night, Quinten stood on a roof top came up onto the roof of the police station. Once he was up there, he saw Green Arrow.

"So," he started. "Ms. Smoak gives you a way to call me now."

"She vouches for you." He replied walking up to him. "And you told me you're trying to help the city without dropping bodies. That true?"

"What do you think?" Arrow asked.

"Let's just say I'm willing to be convinced." Quinten replied, walking to the edge of the roof. "This city is hurting. And the police… I always thought we didn't need to go outside the law to find justice. But in light of recent events, I'm not so sure anymore."

He then walked back up to Arrow and handed him a file he was carrying.

"Barton Mathis." He continued. "The media calls him the Doll Maker. Cause he suffocates his victims with a flexible polymer he pours down their throats and then he dresses them up like dolls. I put him away, but because of the quake, he's out and he's killing again."

Arrow continued to look at the files as Quinten talked, and something caught his eye.

"These are from six years ago." He replied.

"That's my personal file." Quinten answered.

"Maybe it's not just the file that's personal."

Quinten huffed a bit before continuing.

"Mathis killed eight girls before I put him away last time," he told him. "I don't want any more on my conscience."

"So why don't you let the police do their job?" Arrow inquired, closing the file.

Quinten scoffed a bit.

"I could say the same thing to you." He retorted. "They're spread so thin they can't even risk letting the public know Mathis is out. You said you're trying another way? Maybe I am too."

…

The next night, Felicity was going over everything in the file Quinten gave Oliver to try and find a clue on Mathis' next victim.

"Lance's file give you anything?" Oliver asked walking in.

"Las time the Doll Maker was active in Starling City, he ramped up to one kill every three days." Diggle reported.

"That gives us two days to catch him." Oliver deduced. "Can we connect the victims?"

"Young. Pretty." Diggle listed off. "According to Lance's file, he couldn't figure out how he chose them."

"As if porcelain dolls weren't creepy enough all on their own." Felicity commented.

"Barton Mathis doesn't have any family or known acquaintances." Diggle continued. "Lone wolves are harder to catch."

That's when Oliver was struck with an idea.

"But they do have the right to an attorney." He said. "Call Lance. Tell him to set up a meeting for tonight."

"Where?" Felicity asked.

"At the office of whoever represented Barton Mathis." He answered.

"So we're assuming this takes priority over finding the identity of your biggest critic." She assumed.

"Black Canary maybe a wild card," Oliver conceded, grabbing his bow off its shelf. "But she's interested in protecting the city, not hurting it. She can wait."

…

The next morning, Quinten came into see Laurel at the DA's office, much to her surprise.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Laurel asked.

"Just came by to check on you and… to check up on some court records." He greeted. "Man you look tired."

"Just some late nights working." Laurel dismissed. "What do you need court records for?"

"… Barton Mathis is out." Quinten explained. "I'm looking for his attorney."

"Why?" she asked, curious. "You're no longer a detective."

"Yeah well, I'm doing a little digging off the books."

"Dad this case…" Laurel began to protest. "It took you to such a dark place last time."

"Yeah, well I think we both know it wasn't Mathis who did that." Quinten dismissed. "Look, nobody knows this guy better than me, which means nobody's gotta better chance at stopping him ok? And that means every girl that he kills is like another one on my conscience."

"No it's not." Laurel spoke up. "Whatever guilt you're feeling… you're just using it to justify a vendetta."

Quinten just stood there for a moment, glancing at Laurel's board of sightings of the vigilante.

"Yeah well maybe I'm not the only one." Quinten retorted before walking out.

…

After a visit to Mathis' attorney, and some excessive interrogation methods from Green Arrow, he and Quinten finally got a lead on where Mathis was hiding out. They wasted no time getting down there.

"The lady at the front desk said that a guy matching Mathis' description checked in last week. Room 52." Quinten told him. "Now listen, just so we're clear when we're through that door we're here to arrest Mathis. Not torture him."

"You asked for my help." Arrow reminded.

"Yeah, that wasn't easy," Quinten retorted. "And neither is aiding and abetting, and I am still a police officer."

"Do you want to catch him or not?" Arrow asked turning towards him.

Quinten let out a breath of defeat before drawing his gun.

"Let's go."

With that, the two entered the room, only to find it empty. In front of them was a telephone and a small doll with a newspaper clipping of the Dollmaker's arrest. Suddenly, the phone started ringing. Having a good idea who was on the other end, Quinten answered it.

" _Detective."_ Mathis greeted. _"It's been too long."_

While they were talking, Arrow called Felicity back at the Arrow Cave.

"Felicity I need a trace." He whispered.

" _On it."_ She replied.

"You sick son of a bitch." Quinten replied.

" _Sick?"_ Mathis repeated curious. _"I've never felt better. Fresh air agrees with me."_

"Yeah well don't get too used to it." Quinten retorted. "I caught you before. It's just a matter of time before I do it again."

" _Fair enough."_ Mathis conceded. _"In the meantime however, I have someone who'd like to say hello to you. Say hello dear."_

The next sound sent a chill down Lance's spine. A woman screaming for help.

" _She's a little inarticulate."_ Mathis jeered.

"She's done nothing to you." Lance replied. "Please don't hurt her. Just let her go."

" _And allow her to wither away in a mediocre and forgettable life. Why would I do that? She deserves… so much better. She deserves to see her beauty preserved. Forever oh but don't worry, I will turn her into something special. Now pay attention detective, what comes next is quite exquisite. The sound of an esophagus slowly hardening."_

On his end of the phone, Quinten could make out the sound of some kind of liquid being poured. He knew all too well what that meant, as did Green Arrow.

"Felicity," he let out.

" _Trying but he's blocking the trace."_ Felicity informed.

"Barton don't do it!" Quinten pleaded. "I'm begging you! Is that what you want?! I am begging you! Just, please stop!"

" _Oh but it's not just for you detective." Mathis replied. "It's for all the world to enjoy. After all…everyone loves a pretty doll."_

With that, the line disconnected. Quinten lowered the phone in frustration and defeat. The Dollmaker had killed again.

 **I appreciate your viewership and patience with this story. I will try and update more frequently, but I have quite a few other projects, both writing and personal, that demand my attention. All the same. I hope you've been enjoying this and I hope you stay tuned for more.**


	5. Broken Dolls part 2

A little while later, Quinten and the rest of the SCPD found the body of the girl Mathis murdered. As he looked at it, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed with feelings of helplessness and anger. He knew one way or another, Mathis' killing spree stops here.

What he didn't know was on the rooftop above him, the Black Canary was surveying the crime scene as well. And she thought similarly as he did. The Doll Maker was done.

…

Back at the Arrow Cave, Oliver decided now more than ever was the time to step up their game.

"Does the new victim give us any forensics we can use?" he asked, walking over to Felicity and Diggle.

"CSI did a complete forensics work up," Diggle reported. "But they sent everything out to a private lab."

"Can you get in?" he asked Felicity.

"No. they took their system offline." She told him. "Seems like someone hacked into a lot of police related systems last year."

"Then we do it like we did the Merlyn job." Oliver decided.

…

Later that night, a security guard was making his rounds near the forensics labs when he was struck in the neck by a tranquilizer. Once he was out, Arrow and Quinten made their way towards their target.

"So glad you invited me to tag along." Quinten remarked.

"Tranq dart." Arrow informed as he entered the lab. "He'll be out for 36 minutes."

"Yeah I remember."

As they both entered the room, Arrow inserted a device that allowed access to the mainframe.

"You're up Felicity." He informed.

"So this is what a typical night is for you huh." Quinten remarked. "Just a little breaking and entering."

" _Alright I got toxicology first."_ Felicity began.

As she began her work, several reports began flowing through the computer monitors.

"What are all these?" Quinten asked.

" _Chemical ingredients of all the make-up found on the victims,"_ She answered. _"Skin cream, nail polish, lipstick,"_

As she continued, something caught Quinten's eye.

"Wait stop. Scroll back." Quinten told her, pointing out the ingredient he saw. "This one. Ethyl paraben, sodium laureth sulphate. I've seen this before"

Felicity began checking on the particular chemical.

" _It's skin cream."_ She told them. _"Forensics found traces on her fingers. Probably something she used before he grabbed her._

"Skin cream." Quinten repeated, trying to remember something. "Mermaid something. One of the victims from his last run, she had this in her purse and I had the lab analyze it. It's the same formula."

"Felicity," Arrow began.

" _Already on it."_ Felicity interrupted.

Within a few moments, she had the product she was looking for. She placed the logo on the monitors for them to see.

"How does she do that?" Quinten asked.

" _Ethyl paraben and sodium laureth sulphate is Mermaidens proprietary formula."_

"Two victims with the same taste in skin cream." Arrow pieced together. "That can't be a coincidence."

"I could never figure out how he chose his victims." Quinten admitted.

"I think you just did." Arrow retorted.

…

"So skin cream? That's our lead?" Diggle asked.

"It's something." Oliver replied. "What do we know about the product?"

"It's made from crushed mother of pearl and its super high end." Felicity explained. "Only carried in a handful of boutiques. It's marketed for women with extremely delicate completions."

"So he picks his victims for their skin, and uses the cream to find them." Oliver rationalized.

"Looks like." Felicity confirmed. "Only four stores in the city carry it, and three of them have surveillance systems. I've run facial recognition through all of them looking for Mathis but have come up empty. He must be staking out the stores from the outside."

"Fine." Diggle decided. "So we'll do the same."

"Yeah but that could take days that we don't have." Oliver reminded. "As far as we know he's out there now looking for another girl."

"So that's what we give him." Felicity said, coming up with an idea.

Both Oliver and Diggle turned to her in surprise.

"I'll go to the stores that carry Mermaiden and buy it in each one to cover our bases."

"It's too dangerous." Diggle cautioned.

"More dangerous than going undercover in a mob casino or jumping out of a plane?" Felicity reminded. "It's my life. It's my choice."

Both men just stood there, knowing they couldn't detour her from making her choice.

…

At a beauty boutique in town, Felicity exited the store carrying the aforementioned skin cream.

"That's the last store." Felicity said into her earpiece. "You're gonna reimburse me for these right? I saved my receipts."

" _Go to the rendezvous point."_ Arrow replied from a top a rooftop. _"Stay in public."_

She continued walking down the street, passing Diggle sitting in a parked car on lookout.

"Just for the record, I'm not a huge fan of dangling helpless girls in front of psychopaths like meat." Quinten voiced, walking on an adjacent sidewalk.

"She volunteered." Arrow replied. "And was very insistent."

" _Well she must really believe in you."_ Quinten commented.

"Been too few that do lately." Arrow lamented. "There are those who think I'm as bad as Mathis."

" _Yeah I know."_ Quinten replied. _"I was one of them for quite a while. Even tried to arrest the wrong person I was so dead set on it"_

Arrow couldn't help but smirk a bit at that comment.

"Not your fault." Arrow replied. "You were just trying to do your job."

" _Yeah well my anger towards the guy kept me from doin it right. Wasn't the first time too."_

"What do you mean?" Arrow asked confused.

Quinten paused for a moment.

" _My youngest, she died."_

"I'm sorry."

" _Less than a month after it happened I… I ended up catching the Dollmaker case. Threw myself into it. I think on some level, with each girl I was trying to save… Sara. And just like with Sara I couldn't. He killed eight girls Sara's age before I caught him."_

" _Someone's coming."_ Felicity interrupted.

Coming back into the moment, Green Arrow looked down where Felicity was walking and saw someone approaching her from behind.

"I got him." he told her.

As she continued walking, the feeling of terror inside Felicity began to grow.

"Ok I will admit to being seriously wigged out right now." Felicity admitted.

All three men were on standby and ready to move should the need arise. Felicity looked over to the man to see him entering a building across the street. She let out a sigh of relief.

"False alarm." She reported. "But next time I offer myself as bait for a serial killer, please turn me down."

As Felicity was walking, she was moving so fast she didn't realize she bumped into Barton Mathis himself until it was too late. He immediately grabbed her and started pulling her deeper into the alleyway, with her screaming all the way. The others heard this and proceeded to take action.

…

On a rooftop not too far away, Black Canary was hearing Quinten's voice come out over a 'borrowed' police radio.

" _Delta Charlie 52 to central. Code 99 possible 207 in progress! Immediate back up required!"_

"On my way." Canary said to herself.

She than began running towards Quinten's location, determined to bring down the Dollmaker for good.

…

Back at the alley, Mathis continued dragging Felicity as an arrow hit him in the back, forcing him to let go of her. As Arrow dropped to the ground, Mathis pulled the arrow out of his back and began running off. Arrow then went over to Felicity still on the ground.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She only groaned in response as Quinten ran past and Diggle ran up.

"Don't move." He told her before turning to Diggle. "She hit her head."

"I got her," he told him. "Go."

…

Meanwhile, Quinten was still in hot pursuit of Mathis, not intent on letting the murderer get away this time. As he prepared to round a corner, he was hit by Mathis wielding a plank of wood. After Quinten fell to the ground, Mathis dropped the plank and proceeded to pick up the gun Quinten dropped.

"Good to see you again detective." Mathis greeted. "You know I must admit, I thought there'd be a little more ceremony to this moment. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed."

As he aimed the gun ready to fire, a sonic scream came seemingly out of nowhere, knocking Mathis against a wall. Quinten turned to see Black Canary standing there letting loose the scream. As she finished, she started walking over to Mathis, who had just fallen to his knees and hands after coming off the wall. He eyed a nearby pipe and proceeded to grab it. He then got up and started swinging the pipe wildly at her, causing her to keep back stepping away from the swings. She then kicked Mathis in the chest, causing him to fall back where he landed before. As he made contact with the ground, he saw the gun he dropped from before. He quickly grabbed it and prepared to aim it at her. Just them, an arrow came whizzing past and it hit the gun out of his hand. Black Canary turned to see Green Arrow having fired the arrow and loading another one. Fearing he'd actually kill Mathis, she grabbed one of her batons off her belt and tossed it at Arrow, causing the arrow to miss its target as Mathis fled.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled.

"What did you want me to just let you kill him?" Canary countered.

"I wasn't going to."

"Pardon me for being skeptical!"

"What is it going to take to convince you that I'm on your side?!" Arrow shouted as sirens started blaring out.

Arrow turned to see cop cars approaching, but when he turned back, Canary was gone.

"Go!" Quinten yelled to Arrow.

Arrow headed his advice and proceeded to escape just as the police arrived at the scene.

…

The next morning as Oliver was walking to the court house to attend his mother's hearing, Felicity had called him with an update on the situation.

" _Lance is being charged with obstruction."_ She reported. _"He's in police custody."_

"And Mathis isn't."

" _Thanks to our friend in black. Looks like Black Canary's more of a problem than we first thought."_

"Maybe, but Mathis is still the bigger threat."

" _I shot out a massive email to all the boutiques in town that Mermaiden was defective."_

"Nice work. Keep me posted."

" _What about Lance?"_

"One legal problem at a time." He replied before hanging up and entering the court house.

…

At the SCPD headquarters, Quinten was sitting in an interrogation room handcuffed when Laurel came in with a key.

"I had to call in a lot of favors to get those." She told him, giving him the key. Problem is I've only been working at the DA's office for a month and no one owes me any favors."

"How'd you get the charges dropped?" Quinten asked unlocking his cuffs.

"Your friend, Pike and I have been working on the anti-vigilante task force remember?" she reminded as they walked out of the room.

"Huh, last year you were working with Green Arrow." He remarked. "what a difference a few months makes."

"Green Arrow?" she asked perplexed.

"Yeah a little goofy," he admitted. "But hey fits better than the Hood."

"And now you're working with him. I guess I'm not the only one in the Lance family that's done a 180."

"This city needs help," he replied, turning to face her.. "I just became less particular about where it comes from. What's your excuse? Still Tommy?"

Laurel was taken aback by that, not sure how to respond. She and Tommy were longtime friends and had gotten close while Oliver was on the island. His death hit her harder than most.

"What would you say if it was?" she finally answered.

"That a guy with a bow and arrow can't save a guy who's had a building fall on top of him." he answered. "What's goin on with you is not about him."

"Then what is it dad?" she asked, irritated. "Hmm? I mean why don't you tell me. You seem to have all the answers. That crack that you made about me feeling guilty about something."

"… Tommy's death." He replied.

"Why would I feel guilty about that?" she asked.

"I don't know." He admitted. "But I wish I did, cause its eating you up."

"Your psychoanalysis might hold a little more credibility if it wasn't being offered under police custody." She replied. "I'd stay away from Pike if I were you, and the Dollmaker case."

With that, she walked off, leaving Quinten standing there, feeling frustrated he couldn't help his daughter.

…

Down in the parking garage, Laurel was making her car, frustrated with how things were going with her dad. As she continued walking, she couldn't help but feel that she was being followed. As she came up to a corner, she hid behind it as a man came around, wearing a strange cloak and dark glasses. As he walked forward, she came up from behind and put him in an arm lock, forcing him to the ground.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here?"

The man didn't respond. He just used his free hand to shove a taser into her neck. She could only withstand the amount of volts for so long before finally falling over unconscious.

...

Having heard about both Laurel's and Quinten's kidnapping on the news, Oliver dashed down to the cave to find them before it's too late.

"How'd he get them?" he asked walking up to Diggle and Felicity.

"I don't know about Laurel," Felicity admitted looking over security footage. "Detective Lance was abducted by the precinct parking lot. Mathis shot a guard on the way out which sounded the alarm. I pulled the department's security camera footage and a van from Metamorpho chemical caught my eye."

"Metemorpho was condemned after the quake." Diggle added. "Perfect place to make dolls."

"Not tonight." Oliver declared walking over to his costume.

"Cops can trace this Oliver!" Diggle told him. "Same as we did."

"They won't make it in time!"

…

In the Metamorpho chemical plant, Laurel was strapped down to the table Mathis used to kill his victims while Quinten was tied to a column nearby. Mathis was watching all of this with a sick grin on his face.

"Isn't this nice?" he asked. "All of us here together. It's like Thanksgiving."

"Laurel, just stay calm." He tried to reassure. "Stay calm. Barton, I'm sorry. I know you hate me. And I understand that. But you hate me, so let my daughter go."

"Now why would I do that?" Mathis asked prepping the tube for his special liquid. "Look at her. She's so lovely. Maybe a little too much melain in the skin but… it's the imperfections that make art sublime."

"I am the one who put you away!" Quinten insisted. "She had nothing to do with it!"

"She had everything to do with it!" Mathis yelled. "She's your world. She's your very soul."

He made his way over to the table grabbing his special substance as he continued.

"You know I could kill you, I could maim you, I could slice you into a thousand pieces, but if your soul remains intact what have I wrought? Huh? Nothing."

"I will kill you, you son of a bitch!" Quinten practically screamed. "I will kill you!"

Mathis just ignored him as he poured the substance into the tube, allowing it to work its way to Laurel's throat. Quinten just watched on in horror.

"Laurel, sweetheart…" Quinten said. "Close your eyes."

"If you struggle," Mathis told her. "It will take longer.

Just then, Green Arrow burst through the skylight. As he landed, he shot an arrow at the tube, knocking it away from Laurel as the substance was inches away from her. Seeing he was outmatched, Mathis bolted out of the room. Arrow then went over to Quinten and used one of his flechette's to cut Quinten free.

"Do whatever you need to do." Quinten told him. "Just get him. Get him!"

…

Deeper in the facility, Mathis continued running for his life. He was nearing an exit when an arrow hit a patch of steel pipes above him, causing the pipes to all fall on top of him. Mathis tried pulling himself out when he saw Arrow aiming an arrow at him.

"Well?" he asked. "What are you waiting for?"

While he was talking, Quinten and Laurel came up, see the standoff between the two.

"I guarantee you won't have a better chance to kill me than this." Mathis continued.

"You're going back to prison." Arrow told him.

"I'll get out." He told him. "I'll find a way. And then what's to stop me from doing this all over again?"

Arrow just paused for a moment, mauling over Mathis' words. He then let the arrow fly, causing Laurel to flinch. To Mathis', hers' and even Quinten's surprise, the arrow landed on a pipe behind him, releasing a gas that knocked him out cold.

"I am." Arrow replied before making his exit.

Laurel just stood there for a moment, surprised by the vigilantes choice of actions. He was no stranger to killing before, so why spare this man's life? Especially after all the lives he's taken? She didn't have a chance to ponder any further though as Quinten urged her out of the building.

…

Later that night, Laurel was back home in her bed being watched over by Quinten. As he came out into the living room, Green Arrow was there waiting for him.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She'll be alright… in time." Quinten replied. "You didn't kill Mathis. Even I would have done it."

In the bedroom, Laurel's eyes snapped open, overhearing the conversation.

"I told you I'm trying another way." Arrow reminded.

"Yeah I can tell." Quinten responded. "I don't always agree with your methods, but I can't argue with your results. You saved my daughter… again."

"She needed help."

"And she wasn't the only one. Thanks."

Arrow simply smiled in response.

…

Back at the cave, Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity reconvened to discuss the issue of the Black Canary.

"So now that the Dollmaker is back behind bats, what do we do about your new girlfriend?" Diggle asked.

"Not sure." Oliver admitted. "It's gonna be hard working to save the city if she thinks I'm making things worse."

"So how do we show her you're trying to make things better?" Felicity asked.

Oliver just stood silent for a moment.

"I have no idea." He responded.

…

Back at Laurel's apartment, Laurel sat on her bed in contemplation. The vigilante was supposed to be a killer right? So why go out of his way to spare one of the most prolific killers in Starling City's history? One even her own father admitted he's put down if given the chance. Could he be right? Could he have really changed for the better?

Before she could ponder this any further, a noise rang out. Laurel turned to see it was a police radio, reporting of a robbery in progress. She quickly got off the bed and pulled out a box from underneath. She opened it up to reveal a black mask, a blonde wig, two batons, and a black costume. The costume of Black Canary.

 **Oh of course Laurel is Black Canary. Would I really be working on this story if It were exactly the same. that being said, it is a little difficult getting the ratio of new stuff to copy and paste from an episode. so if certain scenes seem altered or taken out completely, that's just me trying to work with that I've got. hope you've all been enjoying this so far and I hope you stay tuned to see more.**


	6. Crucible part 1

Parties at the Queen estate were nothing new, and this one was no exception. Oliver and his business partner at Queen Consolidated, Isabel Roshev, to attract new investors to the company. Everything seemed to be going off without a hitch except for one thing, Oliver had yet to show up. Felicity took notice of Isabel's irritation and went over to try and reassure her.

"Mr. Queen's going to be a bit late. He's am extremely sorry." She informed. "It couldn't be helped."

"Where is he?" Isabel asked.

"Um…" Felicity said trying to come up with a response. "He just… got a little hold up. You know, tying up some loose ends. I am actually in direct contact with him now. Let me check."

She then stepped away to contact Oliver, only to have the sounds of massive gun fire blaring in her ear, much to her shock.

…

Said gunfire was coming from fully automatic weapons that three gang members were using to try and kill Green Arrow. Fortunately though, he was quick enough to avoid the gunfire.

"Shoot him!" one of the gang members yelled.

"Where man?!" another one asked.

"Anywhere!" he yelled back.

"Yeah that's smart." A voice called out.

The three men turned to see Black Canary standing there with her batons at the ready.

"Shoot blindly into the sky, that'll work."

She then quickly threw her batons at two of the gang members, knocking the guns out of her hands. As the third open fire, Canary ran towards a pile of boxes and leapt on top of it. She then jumped down, kicking the third gang member to the ground. As one of the other gang members grabbed his weapon ready to open fire, Arrow shot out an arrow that produced a cable wrapping around his feet. Before he knew what was happening, he was flung into the air, suspended. Seeing that he was outmatched, the third one decided to bolt as Green Arrow made his way down to the fallen gang members and Black Canary.

"People are gonna start talking if we keep meeting up like this." She told him.

"Unfortunately I've got bigger concerns than vigilante tabloids." Arrow replied, picking up one of the guns. "This is the second group of gang bangers I've taken down carrying M4A1 assault rifles"

"Yeah same here." Canary confirmed. "With weapons like these in the hands of common street punks, people are gonna be too scared to walk the streets anymore."

"Sounds like someone needs to put whoever's distributing these out of commission." Arrow decided.

"What? Like you?" Canary asked.

"I told you I'm not the bad guy." He insisted.

"I know I…" she started to reply. "… I heard about what happened with the Dollmaker. That was… something."

"Just doing what I promised." Arrow told her. "Trying to save the city without dropping bodies."

"So you've said."

"Still not convinced?"

"Not sure at the moment to be honest. I thought I knew who you were but… now I'm not so sure."

"Then let me show you. Help me end the threat of these weapons."

Canary was taken aback by the proposal. For the longest time she had been deadest on taking the vigilante down. She never imagined giving up on that, much less working alongside him. Before anything else could be said however, Felicity came in on Green Arrow's communicator.

" _Um Oliver."_ She spoke. _"Hi. Hate to interrupt, but you have a party to attend here and a business partner who might be looking for your head in a minute."_

Arrow then turned around beginning to depart.

"Where are you going?" Canary asked.

"Somethings come up." He replied. "Just consider my proposal."

With that, he fired a grappling arrow and zipped off into the night.

…

Finally, Oliver arrived at the party.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologized to Isabel.

"This party is meant to attract new investors to your failing company." She scolded. "Being fashionably late might do well on the club circuit but it does not inspire confidence in Wall Street. Is that blood on your face?"

Oliver felt his face and felt the blood.

"Cut myself shaving." He dismissed.

Isabel simply rolled her eyes before walking back to the party. As Oliver turned to join it himself, he caught a glance of Laurel walking into the party herself. he followed her to see she was getting a drink.

"Hey." He greeted, causing her to turn and face him.

"Please don't ask me if I'm ok." She told him. "I have had enough of people asking me if I'm ok."

"I would never do that to you." He told her.

"Thank you." She replied.

"Are you ok?" he asked, thoroughly irritating her.

"The Dollmaker was just your garden variety traumatic experience." She brushed off. "You'd think after the quake and Tommy I'd be used to them."

"I've had a few of those." Oliver replied. "You never get used to them."

Laurel just shrugged as she walked off.

"Hey," he called out. "I know I'm usually tardy to these things, but you aren't.

Laurel turned around.

"Traffic." She replied before turning back to enjoy the party.

Oliver just stood there thinking over Laurel's reasoning as Felicity walked up.

"You really need better time management skills." She told him.

"Yeah well the guys with the guns disagreed." Oliver replied as Sebastian Blood walked up.

"Guns Mr. Queen?" Blood asked, getting Oliver's attention. "I was just talking with some of my constituents about guns. What's your take on the matter?"

"Never used one myself." Oliver replied.

"Gun violence in the Glades has gotten increasingly out of control." Blood reported. "Everyone at the DA is working overtime to try and stop it."

"Well I'm sure you, the DA and the SCPD are doing everything in your power to catch the one bringing these guns into the Glades." Oliver said.

"We are." Blood confirmed. "We even know who's been supplying the gangs with these new armaments."

"Really?" Oliver asked. "Who."

"Some new gang lord calling himself The Mayor." Blood answered. "Thinks he's the one to save our city."

"But that position has already been filled." Laurel corrected walking up. "Hasn't it?"

Blood laughed a bit in response.

"This Mayor only cares about spreading anarchy and chaos," Blood continued. "All from the barrel of a gun."

"Sounds terrible." Oliver remarked.

"You have no idea." Blood replied.

…

After having Diggle check in with his military contacts about the stolen weapons, Oliver went to Queen Consolidated to meet with Sebastian Blood again.

"Mr. Blood," Oliver greeted as Blood was talking to Isabel. "I see you've met Ms. Roshev. She's my-"

"Superior." She cut off.

"Partner." He corrected.

"On paper." She retorted.

"Is that why you asked me to come down here Mr. Queen?" Blood asked. "To mediate your job title?"

"You and I have gotten off on the wrong foot, repeatedly." Oliver told him.

Blood chuckled at that.

"Seems to be your super power."

"I was inspired by what you said the other night about gun violence in the glades." Oliver continued. "And I had an idea that might help."

"Really?" Blood asked sounding skeptical. "Another party at your stately manor?"

"No." Oliver denied. "I wanted to sponsor a Cash for Guns event. I give you the money and you get your constituents to lay down their arms. Everybody wins."

"Especially you." Blood remarked. "Trying to repair your family's tainted name by ridding the Glades of guns."

"You just get the money Mr. Blood." Oliver told him. "I don't want my family's name involved."

"Mr. Queen, may I have a word with you?" Isabel asked.

"Let me think it over." Blood replied before walking away.

He then left the room, leaving the two bosses of Queen Consolidated to talk.

"We are not sponsoring that event." She told him.

"I know." Oliver agreed. "I am."

"With what money?" Isabel asked. "Your investment party cost QC fifty grand, and no one invested a dime. I will not continue to authorize cooperate funds just so you can keep pretending that you are the CEO."

Oliver let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine." He relented. "I'll pay for it myself."

Isabel let out a small laugh.

"Maybe you haven't noticed," she informed. "But your personal trust isn't exactly what it used to be, and this company isn't either. As much as I'd love to make this city a safer place, my first obligation is to Queen Consolidated. And yours is too."

Isabel then walked out of the room, leaving Oliver standing there by himself and feeling rather defeated at the moment.

…

At the DA's office, Laurel was at her desk hard at work. While she was working, she couldn't help but look up at her board of sightings and reports of the vigilante. As she looked at the board, she couldn't help but question if continuing working on the anti- vigilante task force was the best idea. She was so wrapped up in thought, she didn't hear her boss, Adam Donnor walking up.

"Burning the late night oil I see." Adam commented, causing Laurel to look up.

"Oh, Adam hey." Laurel replied. "Just… catching up on some old case files."

"Ah." Adam responded.

"… what would you say if I told you I was thinking of dropping out of the anti-vigilante task force?" Laurel asked.

Adam was surprised by the question and took a second to respond.

"I'd say that's a surprising decision." He finally answered. "You seemed pretty dead set on bring the vigilante to justice."

"Yeah well that was before he saved my life from a psychopath." She retorted. "I don't know, I guess I feel… guilty for hunting him after that? I don't know."

"I can understand that," Adam relented. "But no one is above the law. You've said so yourself."

"Yeah…" Laurel admitted.

"Well if you want, we could continue this discussion over dinner." He offered.

"Thanks for the offer Adam," she replied grabbing her things. "But I just remembered, I have to go."

…

As Laurel drove down the street, everything Adam said and her own thoughts on the vigilante situation began pouring through her head. She agreed with what Adam said, no one should take the law into his own hands, ironic considering her own nightly activities. Still even when the vigilante was killing, he was still trying to help the city. The mental debate she was having was consuming so much of her focus, she didn't notice she had a run a red light until she heard the blare of police sirens behind her. She let out a sigh before pulling off to the side of the road to pull over. She then proceeded to roll down her window as the cop walked up.

"Is there a problem officer?" she asked.

"You ran a red light back there." He told her. "License and registration please."

Laurel then proceeded to fish out her license and registration and had them to the officer.

"I'm sorry officer," she apologized. "I was just lost in thought. Guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Well Ms. Lance," he responded writing on a ticket. "I'd advise you to exercise greater caution in the future."

"Of course." Laurel replied as the officer handed back her license and registration as well as the ticket.

As the officer started walking away, a thought popped into Laurel's head.

"Officer!" she called out getting out of the car.

The officer turned back around to face her.

"I have sort of an odd question to ask." She told him. "What's your opinion on the Starling City vigilante?"

"The arrow guy?" he asked. "Well, you know the polices official stance. Vigilantes aren't the law."

"But…" Laurel guessed.

"A guy like that," the officer continued. "Putting himself on the line like that. Saving people. Sounds like someone who cares a hell of a lot for this city. Why do you ask?"

Laurel paused for a moment.

"Just curious."

…

"I need some good news." Oliver said walking into the cave.

"Bad news first." Diggle replied. "Somehow the Mayor did get his hands on a crate of military-grade weapon from Camp Kirby."

"And the good news?" Oliver asked.

"If he kept the crate we might be able to find out where he's hiding." Felicity answered walking over to a device on the table. "This is the same make and model of a tracking system the army installed on its weapons crates. If they lose a crate, they send out a remote signal that activates the beacon."

"The Mayor's clever." Diggle commented. "He deactivated the beacon. Sent out a signal, nothing comes back."

"You both need to work on your definition of good news." Oliver remarked.

"Ok, how's this?" Felicity interjected. "Guess which company designed the tracking system the army uses. I'll give you a hint. Their CEO? Always late."

"Queen Consolidated." Oliver replied. "Nice.

Felicity smirked before turning back to the computer.

"I pulled up the original specs from the QC mainframe." She continued. "Turns out there's a design flaw. The beacon is still susceptible to a subform wave, even when it's been deactivated."

"The Mayor turned it off Oliver," Diggle interjected. "But we can turn it back on."

With a few carefully calculated keystrokes, Felicity managed to pin point the location of the stolen crate.

"I believe you ordered the crate of stolen military weapons Mr. Queen." Felicity joked.

…

At the Mayor's hideout, the Mayor glanced over at the crate of weapons and saw a blinking red light.

"I thought you deactivated the tracker!" he yelled at one of his subordinates.

The punk just looked around confused. Enraged, the Mayor smashed the tracker with his gun, destroying it. Just then, the sound of an arrow flying rang out. Seeing the Emerald Archer coming out of the shadows, the punks began opening fire on him. He quickly ran along the balcony above, quickly returning fire. The punks kept firing at Arrow as he rolled along the ground letting loose another arrow. He then leapt to a lower platform, firing another arrow and taking out another punk. During all this chaos, the Mayor tried to make a break for it.

"Cover me!" he called out.

Green Arrow then jumped down to ground level as the Mayor made his escape. Just as he readied himself for a fight, the Mayor was gone. He looked around to see the weapons he stole were all there.

"Weapons are secure." He reported on his communicator.

" _And the Mayor?"_ Diggle asked.

"Still in office." Arrow replied.

 **Back again and much faster too. Had a bit of trouble writing this one since a lot of it focused around Sara and (spoiler alert) I don't plan on including her in this story. Hope I did a good job. Another thing I thought I should note is I'm not planning on touching on the flashbacks in this story since I really have nothing to add there. everything will be in present time. hope you stay tuned for more**


	7. Crucible part 2

In an abandoned back alley in the Glades, a young girl named Cindy, or Sin as she was known as on the streets, was walking down it on her way home. Having a very strong feeling that she was being followed, she turned around to see Black Canary walking up to her.

"Hey Sin." Canary greeted.

Sin smirked as she fully turned around to face her.

"Haven't seen you in a while." Sin remarked. "Someone came around asking about you."

"Say anything?" Canary asked.

"Only the good stuff." Sin replied.

"Anything good on the Mayor?" Canary inquired.

Sin scoffed a bit.

"That's a good way to get a bullet." Sin remarked.

"Sin, please." Canary pleaded.

"… word is after Green Arrow cleaned out his weapons stash, he's been working to rearm." Sin relented. "No idea when or where."

"Meaning he's probably planning something big." Canary surmised.

"How exactly are you planning on stopping that guy?" Sin asked as Canary started to walk away.

"Thinking of outsourcing some help." Canary replied.

…

The next day, Oliver's Cash for Guns event was off to a rousing success. While Sin was coming up to talk to Thea and Roy, Oliver was overseeing the whole thing from the distance as Sebastian Blood walked up.

"You don't show up when you say you will," Blood remarked. "And when you promise not to, here you are."

"It's going well?" Oliver asked.

"At last check, we've taken in over 200 guns in only three hours." Blood reported, noting Oliver's smile. "Try not to look so happy about it."

"A lot on my mind Alderman." Oliver responded.

Sebastian let out a breath of slight annoyance.

"My job is to help the people of this city with their problems." He told him.

Oliver turned to face him in surprise. Finally, he relented.

"There's someone I've been trying to work with." He admitted. "Like you I've been trying to convince her that I'm trying to help, but she's still hesitant. I'm sure you can understand that."

"In a way yes." Blood admitted. "Sooner or later though, we all go through a crucible. I'm guessing yours was that island."

Oliver nodded slightly.

"Most believe there are two types of people who go into a crucible. The ones that grow stronger from the experience… and survive it, and the ones who die. But there's a third type. The ones who learn to love the fire. They choose to stay in their crucible because it's easier to embrace the pain when it's all you know anymore. That's why I'm on the clock to help this city. Before it becomes used to living like this."

"'Living is not for the weak.'" Oliver quoted, causing Sebastian to look at him in confusion. "Old friend of mine once told me that."

"That's a wise friend." Blood complimented.

"Yeah." Oliver agreed.

Just then a red truck carrying the Mayor and a few of his cronies came blaring up to the drive. They were firing their machine guns wildly, causing several bystanders to duck in cover as the truck plowed down the police barrier.

"Listen up people!" the Mayor called out as the truck came to a stop. "This is your Mayor speaking. Now I don't recall this here event being sanctioned. What happens in the Glades only happens if I allow it!"

"You're not the leader of this community!" Blood shouted, getting the Mayor's attention. "You don't speak for these people!"

"And neither do you." The Mayor replied. "Not anymore."

With that, the Mayor gave a signal for his men to open fire. Thinking fast, Oliver grabbed Sebastian and pulled him out of the way as bullets flew wildly through the air, hitting several innocent people. The police present tried firing back, but it was to no avail. Finally, the Mayor and his men began driving away. Oliver then ran over to check on Thea and Roy.

"Hey." He called out coming over to them. "Are you ok? Are you hit?"

"No." Thea replied.

As they looked around, they saw Sin hunched over.

"Hey Sin are you alright?" Roy asked.

"All's good." Sin replied pulling out her blood soaked hand.

Roy ran over to her to help as Thea ran off to get help.

…

At the hospital, Roy and Thea could do nothing but watch as an unconscious Sin laid in a hospital bed.

"Hey," he told Thea. "I'm gonna stick around in case she wakes up."

"Is it ok if I stick around with you?" Thea asked. "I mean… you saved her life Roy. Guess you can't stop being a hero."

Roy smirked a bit as he glanced out a window. To her surprise, he saw Black Canary standing on a ledge across from the hospital.

"Hey I'm gonna get us some coffee." He told her, heading towards the door. "I got a feeling it's gonna be a long night."

…

He quickly made his way to an alley outside the hospital. As he got out, Black Canary was there waiting for him.

"I didn't know you knew Sin personally." Roy told her.

"She's a good friend." Canary admitted. "Helps me keep an ear to what's going on in the Glades. But I'm not here to talk about her."

"Then what is it?"

"I want you to deliver a message to your friend in the hood."

…

At the cave, Oliver Diggle and Felicity were going over the news footage of the Mayor's attack.

"The coward finally decided to show his face." Diggle remarked.

"Vanity is gonna cost him." Oliver agreed.

"I 'borrowed' the FBI's facial recognition software." Felicity informed as the software did it's work. "Got a match. Xavier Reed."

"Did Mr. Reed serve in the military?" Oliver asked.

Felicity checked through his records.

"No military history." She confirmed.

"Family members?" Oliver continued to inquire.

"Reed was in and out of foster care his whole life." She reported before something caught her eye. "Wait hold on… in 1996 Reed spent three years with a foster family and their son Ezra Barnes."

She pressed a few keys to check if Barnes had any military background.

"He served three tours in Iraq. He's stateside now."

"Twenty bucks says he was stationed in Camp Kirby." Diggle guessed.

"Pay the man." Felicity confirmed. "The Mayor's foster brother is assigned to a weapons convoy that carries SCAR 16s by truck. The convoy's scheduled to come through Starling City tonight."

"FN SCAR 16s are military assault weapons with grenade launchers." Diggle told Oliver. "The Mayor gets a hold of these Oliver… its game over."

"He won't." Oliver reassured.

As they were talking though, something on the clubs security feed caught Felicity's eye.

"Uh, might want to hold up on that." She told them.

Oliver came over to see Roy standing in the alleyway.

…

Outside, Roy was standing in the alley, waiting for Green Arrow to show up.

"This is going to have to wait kid." Arrow said, getting Roy's attention. "I have bigger problems to worry about."

"Sorry," Roy told him. "I have a message from the Black Canary."

Arrow raised an eyebrow at this.

"She said she wants to meet with you." He continued. "Something about accepting a proposal."

…

On a rooftop in the city, Black Canary stood in wait for her potential vigilante partner.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me." She said, knowing Arrow was behind her.

"What changed your mind?" Arrow asked as Canary turned around to face him.

"Came to finally realize you're trying to help this city rather than hurt it." Canary admitted. "Guess because I was trying to stop you for so long it was hard for me to accept."

Canary paused for a moment as Arrow took in what she was saying.

"Besides after the fiasco earlier today, it's clear the Mayor needs to be stopped. And I don't think either of us can do it alone."

"No, especially since he's getting his hands on high grade assault rifles with grenade launchers." Arrow informed.

"What?" Canary let out. "We can't let that happen."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Arrow asked smirking.

…

The Mayor stood in anticipation as the convoy carrying his new weapons pulled up to him. As the drivers started getting out, the Mayor walked up to his foster brother, Ezra Barnes.

"They're with me." He reassured. "He wasn't."

The Mayor looked over at one of the men dead in the back of the truck. He and Ezra just laughed in response as the two embraced each other, both happy to see the other. One of Ezra's men came up, carrying one of the assault rifles. Ezra took and handed it to the Mayor, who took it with gleeful delight.

"With toys like these," he said. "You and I are gonna own this town."

"First I've heard about it!" a voice called out.

They all looked up to see Green Arrow standing on one of the trucks.

"Sorry to tell you Mayor," Arrow continued. "But your term has expired!"

"Tough talk from a guy bringing a bow and arrow to a gun fight!" the Mayor countered.

"Good thing that's not the only thing he brought." Black Canary added stepping out of the shadows.

Canary wasted no time bashing at several of the goons with her batons. They tried to fight back, but Canary was quick enough to counter their attacks and retaliate with her own.

"Load up the weapons." The Mayor ordered. "Now!"

Before any of the men could move, Arrow fired off two arrows that took out two of the men present. Another one of the goons started firing at him, but he quickly jumped down to the ground to avoid the bullets. He and Black Canary were back to back as the Mayor's men started surrounding them.

"Well this is a fine situation you dragged me into." She commented.

"If memory serves, you volunteered." Arrow retorted, readying one of his arrows. "What about that fancy scream of yours?"

"At this range, it could end up killing them." She explained. "And I think we've both established at this point we're not about dropping bodies."

"Then it looks like we're doing this the old fashioned way." Arrow decided.

He then shot off an arrow, striking one guy in the shoulder as he and Canary dispersed to fight the forces before them. Arrow blocked and countered every punch dealt to him. He then struck one guy across the face with his bow and gave a left hook to another oncoming guy. As a third guy approached him, he swept him off his feet with his bow, pulled out an arrow, and impeded it into the guys shoulder.

Canary seemed to be doing alright as well. With both batons in hand, she blocked and bashed several oncoming men. Seeing one guy about to fire his machine gun at her, she tossed one of her batons at him, knocking the gun out of his hands. She then ran towards the guy and jumped at him, wrapping her legs around his neck. She then used her weight to flip him down to the ground, taking him out.

Arrow meanwhile had just finished striking one guy in the stomach taking him out as another one came up. He quickly pulled out an arrow and fired it before the guy could even reach him.

"Not bad." The Mayor complimented, getting both Arrows and Canary's attention. "But can your arrows do this?"

The Mayor then fired one of the grenade launchers at them. Thinking fast, Green Arrow fired an arrow at the oncoming grenade, setting off an explosion that knocked both vigilantes back. As Arrow started to get up, he saw that his bow was gone and one of Canary's batons was lying next to him. As two of the Mayor's men came up to him, he quickly grabbed the baton and started knocking them back. Even knocking the gun out of one of the goons' hands before taking him out.

Unbeknownst to him, Ezra was standing behind him with one of the assault rifles in hand. Before he could get off a shot however, he was struck in the back by an arrow. Green Arrow turned around to see Ezra on the ground and Black Canary holding his bow.

"Nice shot." He complimented as she walked up.

"Thanks." She replied as the two traded back weapons. "Now let's get this guy."

Meanwhile, the Mayor had taken off, but was sure the two heroes weren't far behind.

"Come on, where are ya?" he asked.

As if on cue, an arrow flew through the air and hit the assault rifle, dislodging it from the Mayor's hands. Before he had a chance to react, Canary struck him in the back before spinning around and hitting him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"That was for a friend of mine." She told him.

…

On a rooftop, Canary and Arrow watched as the police carted the Mayor and his cronies away.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish." Canary commented.

"Hopefully our next Mayor will be a little less liberal on gun control." Arrow joked.

Canary chuckled a bit at that comment.

"Never would have pegged you for having a sense of humor." Canary told him.

"It's a new development." He admitted. "Thanks for agreeing to work with me… and saving my life."

"… I owed you." Canary replied. "For seeing you wrong for the longest time. It's just after everything that happened…"

"The quake?" Arrow guessed.

Canary didn't respond, but Arrow could sense the truth.

"I lost someone close to me…" She admitted. "Because I was too stubborn to leave the Glades when I had the chance. After that I just felt… helpless. With all this death and destruction around me… I felt like I had to do something. And I guess a part of that was trying to stop you. I guess it sounds kinda silly."

"Some might say that." Arrow admitted. "But a friend of mine would call that going through a crucible."

This caused Canary to look up in surprise.

"You went through pain, and came out a hero for many." He told her, walking over to her. "That's something to be proud of."

Canary smiled at his words.

"Though I am curious about that little scream of yours." Arrow inquired.

"Easy there Robin Hood," Canary replied playfully shoving him. "You can't expect me to reveal all my secrets at once."

"I'm pretty good at finding things out." Arrow told her.

"Well then I wish you luck with that." She told him backing away. "See you around Green Arrow."

With that, she turned around and jumped off the edge of the roof. Arrow ran forward to see that she was gone. All he could do was stand there and smirk in response.

…

The next day at Queen Consolidated, Oliver was standing in his office watching a news report on the Cash for Guns event yesterday. It was reported to be a complete success with no idea who the donor was to make the event possible.

"I guess it's true what they say," Sebastian admitted, entering the office. "One man can change the world."

"I'll leave changing the world to you alderman." Oliver replied.

"I'm only in the world because of you." Sebastian told him extending his hand. "Thank you."

Oliver wasted no time taking the hand and shaking it.

"I was just acting on instinct." Oliver admitted.

"It wasn't instinct." Blood objected. "It was strength."

Oliver smiled in response to the comment.

"You know I've seen the signs and the graffiti," Oliver told him. "'Blood for Mayor'. Now that the Mayor is in jail, maybe you should run."

"There is more than one way to save a city." Blood protested.

With that, Sebastian left the office, leaving Oliver with a proud grin on his face. At long last making an ally out of Sebastian Blood, and making real progress to help the city.

…

As soon as the bag came off his head, the Mayor was overwhelmed with confusion. Instead of being taken to the police station, he was strapped down to a chair with a cop standing in front of him.

"What the hell is this?" he asked. "This ain't the police station."

The officer just walked away, revealing a man in a skull mask entering the room.

"Hello brother." The skull mask said in a demonic voice. "Are you ready to serve?"

"Why are you wearing that mask?" The Mayor asked.

"This city is in chains. And I'm going to free it." The skull mask said ignoring the question. "But to do that, I'm going to need an army. An army of the strong."

As he spoke, a man carrying a syringe came up to the Mayor.

"Whoa! What's in that thing?" he asked as the man started putting the needle in his arm.

"A miracle." The skull mask answered as the man injected what was in the syringe into the Mayor.

"Hey get that off me!" the Mayor protested to no avail.

"Are you ready to serve?" the skull mask asked again.

The Mayor then began breathing heavily. Then he started shaking in his chair as he let out a scream of pain. He continued screaming as his eyes started bleeding. He then finally fell over dead. The skull masked man was irritated by this as he took off his mask, revealing to be Sebastian Blood.

"Bring me another." He ordered.

"Yes, Brother Blood." The cop replied.

 **The plot thickens. So by now I bet some of you are wondering about Laurel's origins as Black Canary aside from motivation to fight crime. her training, how she got the sonic scream. well don't worry, all will be revealed in time. So just stay tuned, and I'll be back in a flash.**


	8. The Scientist part 1

**The reason why I'm skipping to this episode is because my story kinda cancels out episode 5 (obviously) and there really wasn't anything I could add to episodes 6 and 7. Admittedly there's not a ton of new stuff here, but what is here will stand out I assure you. Enjoy!**

It was a stormy night outside the Queen Consolidated applied sciences building. As two security guards were making their rounds, they heard a strange sounding thud emanating from the door.

"What was that?" one of them asked.

As the two approached the door, it began to creak and rattle. Suddenly, a dent formed on the door, as if someone had punched it from the other side. As the two guards drew their guns, the door was hit again. Finally, the door fell to the ground, revealing a man in a black mask. The guards tried shooting at him, but it seemed ineffective. The masked man then shoved the guard, causing him to fly into some barrels and knocking him out. Before the second one could even make a move, the man grabbed him by the throat and picked him up into the air. He then threw the guard into a metal container before he fell to the ground out cold. Leaving the masked man free to do what he had went there to do.

…

The next morning, Oliver was not having the best of days. Even though his mother was acquitted of her charges, she wasn't exactly welcome back at the company. The break in at the applied sciences building didn't make things any better.

"This door was made of expanded reinforced titanium." Diggle informed as they were surveying the crime scene. "What did they use to do this?"

"I'm not sure yet." Quinten admitted walking over to them. "No sign of any explosives. Maybe a crane? Maybe a forklift? I'm guessing there was at least three of them, maybe four. Given how quick they got in and out of here, they were fast. Any idea what these guys were so hot to break in here for? Didn't happen to leave a spare earthquake machine lying around did ya?"

Oliver turned to Quinten, giving him an irritated look.

"Sorry." Quinten apologized as another officer walked up.

"This is what we were able to pull off the security cameras." He said showing him the footage on a tablet.

Oliver and the others looked to see a man in a mask grabbing a crate and throwing it at the camera with incredible strength, destroying it. This discovery was startling to say the least.

"This was the only guy we got on video." The officer informed. "The rest of the crew must've come in after him."

"Actually it was just one guy." A voice corrected.

Everyone turned to see a young man, probably in his twenty's, entering the area.

"Sorry I'm late." He apologized. "Well actually, my train was late. Well the second one. The first one I did miss. Though to be fair, that was my cab drivers fault. I got this great traffic app and… well he thought he was right. But I'm here now though, so."

"Great. Who the hell are you?" Quinten asked.

"And do your parents know that you're here?" Oliver added, somewhat mockingly.

"I'm Barry Allen." He introduced, fishing out his badge. "I'm from the Central City Police Department. I'm with the Crime Scene Investigation unit. We're working on a case with some similar unexplained elements in Central City. So when the report of your robbery came over the wire my captain sent me up here."

Oliver just gave a dubious look to Barry in response, giving him an uneasy feeling.

"And you think one guy ripped through this door like it was tin foil?" Quinten asked, skeptical.

"One very strong guy, yeah." Barry answered before pressing a few buttons on a table of his own. "It takes about 1,250 foot pounds of torque to break someone's neck."

He then showed a photo of one of the dead guards.

"See the marks on the guard's neck?" he asked. "The bruising pattern suggests the killer used only one hand."

He noted Oliver's shocked look.

"I', guessing you don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck." He remarked.

"Hmm." Oliver asked, snapping back to reality. "No, no idea."

"Uh," the second officer spoke up, getting Oliver's attention. "We're gonna need a list of the entire inventory to find out what was stolen."

"Actually I think I know what was stolen." Barry interjected. "A centrifuge. An industrial centrifuge.

He started walking over to a certain area of the building with everyone following.

"Probably the Cord Enterprises 2BX-900." He guessed. "Maybe the sixth series. Both have a three column base."

They then came up to a set of broken bolts on the ground where the centrifuge most likely was.

"There," he pointed out. "You can see the three sets of broken bolts where the thief just ripped it out of the ground."

"And what exactly is a centrifuge?" Quinten asked.

"It separates liquids." Felicity explained. "The centripetal acceleration causes denser substances to separate out along the radial direction."

"The lighter objects move to the top." Barry simplified.

"What did you say your name was?" Felicity asked, seeming interested.

"Barry. Allen."

"Felicity. Smoak."

Oliver gave another mistrusting look, causing Barry to snap back to reality.

"Um, you can see the cracks heading towards the door." He continued. "Footsteps. One guy. "

Oliver walked past and knelt down to get a good look at the prints.

"Anyway it's just a theory." Barry admitted. "One… backed by a lot of evidence."

"There has to be another explanation." Quinten insisted.

"We've dealt with our fair share of crazy stuff in Central City. Barry countered as Quinten walked over to Felicity. "But yeah, I'm sure you're right." Barry admitted

"You might want to fill in our mutual friend in on this." He suggested quietly.

"Don't worry." She reassured. "Sure he's already on it."

Oliver meanwhile was still near the ground looking at the broken bolts, thinking of something that hadn't come to mind in a long time.

…

Back at the Queen Consolidated offices, Oliver was looking out the window thinking about the robbery last night when Diggle came up.

"Oliver, got the final inventory from applied sciences." Diggle reported. "Turns out that CSI from Central City was right. The only thing missing is a centrifuge."

"You have to see this." Felicity said entering the room. "I pulled up CC traffic camera footage from across the street of applied sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off."

Felicity held up her tablet showing security footage of the masked man carrying the centrifuge over his shoulder with his bare hands, much to the astonishment of the others. While this was playing, Oliver casually looked up to see Barry entering the room.

"Can we help you with something detective?" Oliver asked, causing the others to turn in Barry's direction."

"Oh CSI's aren't actually detectives." Barry corrected wheeling in a briefcase. "We don't even carry guns. Just some plastic baggies."

Barry chuckled a bit at that, with Felicity joining in.

"Uh, where should I set up my equipment?" he asked.

"I'll show you." Felicity volunteered.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked interrupting them.

"Your assistant said that you preferred to keep the investigation in house," Barry explained "so I cleared it with my captain to give you a hand."

Felicity turned back to a slightly irritated looking Oliver. The two stepped aside to discuss the matter at hand.

"What are you doing?" Oliver asked.

"We need to find this intruder." Felicity rationalized. "And he seems to know more about it ttan any of us."

Oliver still seemed skeptical about this.

"Look, forensic science isn't exactly my forte so… I'd say we need him. Wouldn't you?"

Oliver looked back at Barry for a moment before turning back to Felicity.

"Mhm." He replied reluctantly.

With that, Felicity turned back to Barry and walked over to him.

"I'll show you around." Felicity offered.

As the two walked off, Oliver and Diggle were left standing there pondering a few things.

"Why am I getting the feeling you know more about this than Felicity's new friend?" Diggle guessed, noting Oliver's face

"Pray I'm wrong." Oliver replied.

…

Back at the applied sciences building, Barry activated a special blue light around the spot where the centrifuge was stolen. Felicity looked on in confusion as Barry knelt down to ground level.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Felicity asked

" Your thief's shoes touched the ground," he explained as he swabbed the ground. "Which means he tracked in dozens of clues as to where he's been the past few days."

After a bit of work, he finally came up with a sample.

"Got ya." He said as he carried it over to the table and placed it in a scanning device "Shouldn't take long."

As the two waited for results, Barry decided to ask Felicity something that had been bugging him for a while

"So you've seen him, right?" he asked, The Green Arrow?"

The question caught Felicity off guard.

" I read that he saved you." He told her. "What was he like?"

"Green." Felicity responded bluntly.

"Green." Barry repeated fascinated. "That's interesting, right? I mean, why green? Black would be better for stealth, and urban camouflage. Me, personally… I think that he trained in some sort of like forest or jungle environment, and the green is a nod to that."

"I don't give the vigilante much thought." Felicity quickly dismissed, desperate to change the subject.

"I have a bit." He admitted, switching off the light. "Like, police reports show that he uses carbon arrows, but if he switched to an aluminum carbon composite, he would have far better penetration.

"Maybe he thinks he penetrates just fine." Felicity countered.

"Do you want to know something else?" Barry asked. "I think that he has partners."

This surprised Felicity a bit, but she didn't let on.

"Definitely someone with a background in computer sciences." Barry resumed.

"Yeah." Felicity let out slightly irritated. "Why are you so interested in the Vigilante?"

"I just admire his work." Barry told her. "Someone who could get out there and do whatever he could to help people. Even when the police couldn't."

That surprised Felicity a bit, and Barry could tell she wanted clarification.

"When I was 11, my mom was murdered." He told her.

"I'm so sorry." She replied.

"They never caught the guy who did it." He continued. "Maybe he would have."

At that moment, the computer started beeping signifying that the results were located.

The soil." Barry observed, looking at the computer. "There's a crystalline structure in it."

He typed a bit more and found a very interesting residue in the sample.

"That's weird." He let out.

"What's weird?" Felicity asked.

"It's sugar." Barry responded.

…

Earlier that day, Roy had received a text from Sin about some kind of emergency, so he and Thea went to the alley behind Verdant to find out what it was

"Sin," Roy greeted. "You said this was an emergency."

"No offense," Sin replied turning to Thea. "but Thea, you shouldn't be here."

"In the alleyway of the club I own?" Thea countered.

Unable to come up with a response, Sin relented and told them both what was going on.

"It's my friend Max." she told them. "He's missing. I haven't seen him for a week, no one has. Something happened to him. I figured you knew someone who could help."

"Roy can help you." Thea offered before Roy could respond.

This offer caught both him and Sin off guard.

"I thought you wanted me to stay out of trouble." Roy recalled.

"I kind of like that you never turn away from someone who needs help." Thea complimented. "I'll just get someone to cover the club."

"What do you mean?" Roy asked, very confused.

"Oh, I'm coming with you." She told him before walking off, leaving him both worried and irritated.

…

"Found something?" Oliver asked, walking over to Felicity and Barry.

"We found something." Felicity confirmed.

"There were trace amounts of sucrose and a speck of dirt the killer dragged in here on his boot." Barry reported.

"Which got me thinking." Felicity picked up, "There's a sugar refinery two miles from here. The land around it is suffused in waste sugar. So I checked. Their delivery truck was stolen a few days ago."

"Their truck matches the make and model of the truck the thief used to steal the centrifuge." Barry informed.

"Can you track the vehicle?" Oliver asked.

"We've been trying." Felicity replied.

Just then, the computer started beeping, getting everyone's attention.

"What was that?" Oliver inquired.

"You're not gonna believe this," Felicity remarked as she looked at the screen. "The truck. It was just used to rob a blood bank."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah." Felicity confirmed. "Our guy made off with 30,000 ccs of O-negative."

"Wait super strength, likes blood?" Diggle asked. "Please don't tell me we suddenly believe in vampires."

"I'll get this information to the police." Barry volunteered.

"I'll take care of it." Oliver responded.

"Won't be any trouble." Barry insisted as he walked off.

"Before you go," Oliver stopped. "You said you were working a similar case in Central City right?"

Barry froze up a bit.

"Yeah um…" Barry tried to respond. "I mean it has… similar elements. Yeah similar in that… regard. Look I should get going."

"Of course." Oliver replied as he and Diggle walked off as well. "I want you to look into this Allen kid. I'm getting the feeling there's more to him than he's letting on."

"I don't know. His intentions seemed pretty clear to me." Diggle remarked. "Unless you have reason to be concerned."

"What? Of Felicity liking someone?" Oliver asked. "Of course not.

"Oh right. You prefer girls inn skin tight leather beating the crap out of criminals." Diggle joked.

"Just do it, please." Oliver insisted.

"Oliver when are you gonna tell me what exactly we're up against?" Diggle asked, now sounding serious.

Oliver just walked away in silence, leaving a very frustrated Diggle in the dust.

…

The stolen sugar truck moved down the street at terminal speeds, with its driver determined to reach its destination. Right behind it however, Green Arrow pulled up on his bike, determined to end the thief's plan before it started. After a bit of swerving from both drivers, Arrow fired an arrow at the thief's rear view mirror and pulled on the opposite side of him. The thief looked over to see him but to his surprise, there was nothing there except an empty bike speeding away. Suddenly, Arrow swung down from the roof and kicked the thief. He retaliated by punching Arrow in the chest, causing him to nearly fall off the truck. Arrow quickly pulled himself back up and punched the thief several times in the face, but the thief just turned back towards him as if he hadn't been punched in the first place. The thief grabbed him by the arm and flung him onto the hood of the truck. He then punched through the windshield and pulled him inside. Green Arrow then took out an arrow and tried stabbing him in the leg, but the thief felt nothing and just shoved him out the other car door, making the emerald archer skid across the road as he came to an abrupt stop in a pile of trash.

Arrow slowly pulled himself out of the trash to get back to his feet. He took a look at the arrow that he tried to stab the thief with and saw it was bent. Before he could do anything else, a red streak suddenly zoomed past him towards the truck, much to his astonishment.

Back in the truck, the thief just continued driving when he felt a sudden whoosh of air. He turned to see a man in a red suit with a lightning bolt on the chest sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hi." He greeted.

The thief tried punching him, but this mystery streak just moved his head out of the way. The streak then reached for the steering wheel and tried to veer the van off its intended course. The thief however, grabbed the streaks arm and crushed it, causing the streak to cry out in pain. The thief then punched the streak in the face causing him to fall out of the truck and tumble onto the road as the thief drove away. As the streak got up, he saw Green Arrow watching him from the distance. He said nothing as he sped off into the night, leaving Arrow stand there feeling both confused about what had happened, and terrified for what's to come.

 **Yes my friends, The Flash has arrived! I know he doesn't get created until the end of the next episode, but like the Reverse Flash, I needed the Flash to be made sooner for my plans to work. (Which involve killing a mom Ironically enough.) anyway, thanks for viewing and stay tuned for more.**


	9. The Scientist part 2

Back at the cave, Felicity was trying to patch up Oliver's bruises.

"Yeow!" he let out.

"Sorry." Felicity responded.

"Thank you," Oliver said as he sat up straight and turned to Diggle. "You were right in asking if I knew more than I was letting on. I've seen men with abilities like that before."

"You have?" Felicity asked, shocked. "Where?"

"On the island." Oliver answered. "During my second year marooned there we… I came across the remains of a old Japanese World War II military project. It was a serum designed to create human weapons."

"Human weapons." Diggle remarked, "My God, what's next? Aliens?"

"Well I did hear some rumors in National City," Felicity began to interject.

"This is real." Oliver interrupted. "Those five years that I was away I came across things that just…defy explanation. There was a doctor named Ivo that came to the island…to test the serum on people. The ones that survived, their endurance, reflexes and strength, all enhanced."

"You think this Ivo's in Starling City?" Diggle asked.

"He's dead." Oliver responded before pausing for a moment. "And so is everyone he injected with the serum, the last of which I burned."

"You think someone found the recipe?" Diggle guessed.

"The centrifuge and a large supply of blood, I think someone wants to make more of it." Oliver surmised. "A lot more."

"Why couldn't you have been marooned on Aruba." Felicity joked somewhat.

"There's still one major component left." Oliver told them as he handed a bent arrow to Felicity. "A powerful sedative."

"I think I preferred it when you left these in people." Felicity remarked.

"I need you to analyze the blood on the arrowhead." Oliver instructed. "If we can figure out which sedative they're using-"

"We can figure out where the next robbery will be." Diggle deduced.

"Barry and I will get right on it." Felicity told them before walking off.

"I do believe our dear Ms. Smoak is smitten." Diggle remarked before turning and seeing Oliver's face. "You ok man?"

"I saw something else on the road tonight." Oliver told him. "Something… something even I've never seen before."

"Considering we've already dealt with sonic screams and human weapons, that doesn't surprise me." Diggle replied. "What was it?"

"I… I don't know." Oliver admitted before changing the subject. "Did you find anything on Barry Allen?"

"Yeah," Diggle confirmed. "He's not who he says he is."

…

The next day, Roy, Thea, and Sin went to Max's apartment to find any clues to his disappearance.

"Ugh it reeks in here." Thea commented, appalled by the smell and noting the dark themed paintings that graced the room. "Guess your friend wasn't too into painting seascapes."

As the three continued looking around, Roy saw a flyer for a blood drive sponsored by Sebastian Blood. He picked it up, feeling very intrigued.

"Max is like any starving artist." Sin told them. "Starving… but… I could always crash here when I didn't have a place to stay."

"Hey this blood drive was a week ago." Roy spoke up. "When did you say he went missing?"

Sin turned to see the flyer and the date on it.

"That day." She confirmed.

This came as a surprise to everyone, as it seemed a crucial piece of the puzzle had fallen into place.

As the three began to leave, a police officer watched them from across the street. He then picked up his phone and called a certain number.

"It's Daley." He spoke. "Someone's looking for Maxwell Stanton."

" _Then they should find him."_ The voice on the other end suggested.

"Yes, Brother Blood." Daley replied before handing up.

…

Across town, Barry and Felicity were chatting in the offices of Queen Consolidated.

"So you saw the S.T.A.R Labs particle accelerator turn on?" Felicity asked.

"Well on TV yes," Barry admitted "But I could see the explosion from the window of the CCPD precinct."

"Not really surprised something like that happened." Felicity remarked. "There's been a hundred percent increase in earthquakes since they turned on the Large Hadron Collider."

"Hey, that data is misleading." Barry argued.

"Oh, do tell." Felicity replied, smiling.

"You know about misleading, don't you?" Oliver guessed, walking into the room.

"What are you talking about?" Felicity asked.

"Only that Mr. Allen's story is completely false." Oliver answered.

"What?" Felicity let out.

"What- what would make you think that?" Barry asked.

"A little digging." Oliver answered. "Digging that revealed you're not full CSI, just an assistant, and that there is no similar case in Central City. In fact, your bosses don't even know you're here. So tell me Barry, what are you doing here?"

Barry was speechless and defeated. He decided that the only thing left he could do was admit the truth.

"I told you my mother was murdered." He said to Felicity.

"By your father." Oliver interjected.

"He didn't do it." Barry insisted.

"You said the police didn't find the man who killed her." Felicity recalled.

"They didn't." Barry told her. "… but they think they did. My dad is serving a life sentence for a crime he didn't commit… they didn't believe me."

"About what?" Felicity asked with an eyebrow raised.

"… I was 11." Barry began. " one night… something just came into our house, like a tornado. A blur."

That choice of words caught Oliver's attention.

"And somewhere inside the blur, I saw a person. My dad went to fight it. I tried to get him when suddenly… I was 20 blocks away from our house… nobody believed me. They thought I was trying to cover for my father. But what I saw that night, was real. As real as the man who ripped down that metal door with his bare hands."

Oliver was still taken aback by all he had just heard.

"That's why I look into cases like this," Barry continued. "The ones nobody believes are possible. Maybe if I can just make sense of one, I might be able to find out who really killed my mother … and free my dad."

After all that, Barry just let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I lied to you." He spoke, before turning back to Felicity. "Better find another plus one."

With that, Barry walked out of the office, leaving Oliver with a very irritated Felicity.

"You know you can be an extreme jerk sometimes." She told him.

"There maybe some truth to his story." Oliver admitted, surprising Felicity.

"What?" she let out.

"The night I encountered the thief I also saw something chase after him as well." Oliver told her. "Some 'blur' that moved faster than anything I have ever seen. I think that might be the blur that Barry was talking about."

Felicity scoffed a bit.

"Would have appreciated the encouragement before you called him out like that." She remarked.

"Well he did lie about who he really was." Oliver countered.

"Yeah, and what do we do every day?" Felicity replied before walking out herself.

…

That night, the Queen family party to welcome back Moira began, with a very disappointing turn out. Very few guests had arrived, much to Oliver's disappointment. His mother tried to look alright with it, but he couldn't help but feel the disappointment. He casually walked up to a still irritated Felicity.

"Think this would be as good a time as any for a dance." He suggested.

"I'm not really in the mood to dance Oliver." Felicity remarked.

"Then it's a good thing I invited him." Oliver said, pointing out to the crowd.

Felicity turned to see Barry standing there in a tux, much to Felicity's surprise.

"Just so you know, they will card him at the bar." He informed before walking off.

Felicity just smiled as she walked over to Barry.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Hey," he greeted back. "I was serious earlier about not knowing how to dance. Want to just… hold hands and sway."

Felicity just chuckled a bit as the two held hands and swayed in place. While they were doing that, Thea walked up to Roy.

"Hey." Roy greeted. "You doing ok?"

"Of course." Thea replied. "You know us Queen women, we never let anything get to us."

"Then you must take after your dad." Roy remarked before his phone started ringing. He was quick to answer it.

"Hello?" he answered.

His face dropped a bit, hearing what the voice on the other end was saying,

"Alright I'm on my way." He replied before hanging up. "That was Sin."

"Did she find Max?" Thea asked.

"Uh, no she just wanted to meet with me about something." Roy told her. "Sorry."

With that, Roy went off to meet up with Sin, leaving Thea to wonder what was really going on.

…

"Max!" Sin cried out as some police officers were holding her back. "Get off me!"

It was at that moment that Roy showed up and ran over to try and help.

"Hey! " He yelled. "Let her go!"

The cops responded by shoving Sin behind the police barricade and into Roy.

"Stupid cops." Sin remarked, gaining composure. "They're saying Max OD'ed."

"Was he using?" Roy asked.

"No!" Sin quickly replied. "He made extra cash donating blood. You really think the hospital would let him be a donor if he was an addict?"

Taking all this in, Roy quickly slipped behind the police barricade and used his phone to take a picture of Max's face, which happened to have blood coming out from the eyes. Once he was done, he and Sin got the heck out of there, not knowing their actions were being watched by a certain officer Daley.

…

"Barry said that the sedative needed is ketamine." Felicity reported to Oliver and Diggle back in the Arrow Cave. "The police found trace amounts of it in the thief's blood. It's a common surgical anesthesia derived from hydrochloric salt."

"Can you use that to track him?" Oliver asked as Felicity took a seat at the computer.

"With the current concentration ratio in the blood sample there is only one possible location with a large enough quantity of the sedative that correlates with the amount of blood the stolen centrifuge can process." Felicity responded.

Diggle leaned over to take a look at the picture of the location on the screen.

"What is it?" Diggle asked. "There's no sign."

"Yeah, well ARGUS doesn't like to advertise." Felicity remarked. "It's a disaster bunker right on the edge of the Glades. ARGUS has them all over the country. They store food, clothes, supplies-"

"Medicine." Diggle finished.

"I'm on my way." Oliver let out.

Oliver then went for his bow and costume.

"Oliver," Felicity let out. "… be careful out there ok? With the way this arrowhead is bent… this guys muscle density is stronger than concrete."

"I beat someone like this before," Oliver reassured. "I can do it again."

"What if you can't?" Felicity asked.

Before Oliver could respond, a beeping from the computer went off. Oliver turned to the screen to see the red flechette imbedded in the wall. Roy wanted to talk.

…

Out in the alleyway, Green Arrow walked to where Roy was waiting for him.

"This better be important kid." Arrow told him.

"I need your help." Roy told him. "A friend of mine's friend is dead. The cops think he OD'ed but we think he might be murdered.

"Why?" Arrow inquired.

"Well he wasn't an addict for starters," Roy explained. "And this…"

Roy then showed Arrow the photo of Max.

"This doesn't look like any kind of OD I've ever seen."

Arrow was taken a back by the picture, knowing what caused it all too well.

"Stay away from that." Arrow told him.

"You know something?" Roy asked, not entirely meaning it as a question.

Arrow jut looked down in response

"What happened to him?!" Roy demanded. "You're the one who told me to be your eyes and ears on the streets. Well you know what, that's not good enough anymore!"

"Fine." Arrow finally spoke. "Then we're done all together."

"I don't need you!" Roy yelled as Arrow turned around. "I have friends who can help me. You can't stop us."

"But I can slow you down." Arrow said quietly.

Arrow then spun around, pulled out an arrow, and fired it into Roy's leg. He fell over, clutching his leg in pain as Arrow walked off to put a stop to this threat.

…

Once at the warehouse, Green Arrow looked around for the masked mirakuru warrior. He was on high alert, not sure which direction the thief would come from.

Suddenly, a giant crate flew towards him. He quickly rolled out of the way. As he got to his feet, he saw the thief up on a catwalk near the ceiling and started firing arrows at him. The thief leapt down to the ground to engage Arrow head on. The thief took a swing at Arrow but he quickly ducked under it. Arrow then quickly turned around and shot an arrow that contained a cable which tied him to the pole behind him by the neck.

"Who are you?" Arrow questioned.

"Merely a follower." The thief told him.

"of who?"

"My brother."

"Did he give you the Mirakuru?" Arrow questioned. "Did he inject you with it?!"

"No." the thief replied. "He saved me with it."

The thief then broke the cable holding him. Arrow let loose several arrows, but they all bounced off the thief's chest as he walked towards him. He took another swing at Arrow but he ducked under that one as well. Arrow dealt several blows to the thief but they all seemed ineffective. Arrow then knelt down and struck the thief on the back of the leg, causing him to kneel down. The thief retaliated by backhanding Arrow, sending flying across the room. As Arrow landed, the thief walked over to him and grabbed him by the throat. The thief then lifted Arrow into the air and started crushing his throat. Arrow grabbed hold of his hand trying to pry it off, but to no avail.

Just then, a flash of red zoomed in and came to a stop at a wall near the two combatants, revealing the man in red that tried to thwart the truck robbery the previous night.

"Hey!" the streak called out, gaining the thief's attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size."

The thief tossed Arrow aside as he turned his attention to the flash.

"Surely you can't mean you." The thief replied, gripping another crate.

"I may not be as strong as you." The flash admitted as the thief threw the crate at him.

The flash then moved out of the way of the crate at breakneck speed.

"But you're not as fast as me."

The flash then zoomed towards the thief and sped around him, unleashing several super speed punches as he did so. The thief then punched the flash as he ran around him, sending him skidding across the floor. As the thief walked towards the flash, Green Arrow came up alongside him and shot two arrows at the thief's feet. With the thief pinned down, the flash ran around and came back and speed punched the thief, sending him crashing into some shelves. Arrow walked forward a bit to survey his fallen opponent.

"Nice work there." The flash complimented.

Instinctively, Green Arrow spun around and aimed an arrow at the flash, causing him to back up in surprise.

"Whoa whoa." The flash let out.

"Who are you?!" Arrow demanded.

"I-I'm one of the good guys." The flash insisted.

"What do you know about the murder of Nora Allen 15 years ago?!" Arrow pressed.

The flash was shocked by the question.

"W-what do you know about that?" the flash asked.

"There were reports of a blur in the house moving at inhuman speeds." Arrow continued. "And I seriously doubt there's two people running around at high speeds in red leather."

"Well technically it's not leather, it's a reinforced tri-poli-" the flash tried to explain until he noticed something behind Green Arrow. "Look out!"

Arrow turned around to see the thief coming up behind him. He quickly ducked as the thief tried to hit him, causing him to hit the flash and send him into a crate. The thief then uppercutted Arrow, sending him flying into the air. As he landed, the thief punched him into a shelf that collapsed on top of him. Arrow struggled to remain conscious as he saw several needles sticking into his leg. Before he could call for help, he passed out.

After a little while, the flash came to and saw the unconscious Green Arrow on the ground. Once he saw the needles imbedded in his leg he went over to help. As he knelt down and propped up his head, his hood fell back a bit, revealing his face.

"Oliver…?" the flash let out.

Thinking fast, the flash picked up Oliver and ran out of the building.

…

"Oliver?" Felicity tried to reach on the comms. "Oliver?... he's not answering."

"That's it." Diggle decided, pulling out a gun from one of the drawers. "I'm going after him."

Before he could get going, there was a rush of wind in the cave. Diggle and Felicity looked up to see Oliver on the table and the flash standing over him.

"Oliver!" Felicity let out.

"What did you do to him?!" Diggle demanded pointing the gun at him.

"Nothing!" the flash insisted. "But I can save him if you let me."

"Yeah, well why should we trust you?" Diggle questioned.

Unable to think of anything else, the flash pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Barry Allen, much to Diggle's and Felicity's surprise.

"… Barry?" Felicity spoke.

"Please," Barry begged. "Let me save him."

 **I gotta say folks, this is a chapter I've been looking forward to writing for a long time, and I gotta say it was well worth it. And the next part is gonna be even better, inserting the Flash into my favorite episode of season 2. And don't worry I haven't forgotten about Laurel, I just couldn't figure a way to include her in the episode without it feeling tacked on. Just stay tuned and brace yourselves for more!**


	10. Three Ghosts part 1

Once getting the approval from Diggle and Felicity, Barry got to work trying to save Oliver.

"Hold him!" Barry instructed as Oliver was beginning to spasm.

"He's not going to make it." Diggle let out, holding Oliver down.

"He will." Felicity told them. "We just have to find out what's in his system."

Barry then began zooming around Oliver checking him over.

"Alright I can think of four…" he told them before checking his eyes with a flashlight. "Three possible diagnosis for why his body is reacting this way."

He looked over Oliver again and began narrowing down his options.

"Two," he let out before turning to Diggle. "Start chest compressions."

Diggle did so as Barry grabbed a syringe and drew some blood from Oliver's arm. After taking a look at it, he finally knew what was wrong.

"Got it." He informed. "He's suffering from intravenous coagulation."

"What?" Felicity asked.

"His blood is unnaturally clotting." Barry elaborated. "It's like maple syrup."

"You can save him right?" Felicity asked.

Barry froze for a moment, trying to think of what to do next. Suddenly, something in the cave caught his eye. He ran over and picked up a box of rat poison before running back over.

"Fortunately you guys have a rat problem." He remarked.

"You kidding?!" Diggle let out, furious. "That'll kill him!"

"He dies if I don't!" Barry countered.

"Felicity." Diggle said turning to her.

She paused, but just for a moment.

"Do it!" she told him.

Barry nodded before getting the right amount of poison out.

"Ok, just the right amount of this stuff will thin his blood out enough to get it circulating again." He told them.

With that, Barry injected Oliver with the poison, hoping it would work.

" _Let go Oliver."_ A voice rang out in Oliver's head.

He slowly turned to the side to see the ghostly image of an old friend.

"Shado?" Oliver whispered.

" _Don't fight anymore."_ She told him as she stretched out her hand. _"Stay with me…"_

Oliver was about to reach out to her before falling unconscious again.

…

Sometime later, Oliver woke up to the sight of Barry standing over him in the red suit of the man he encountered at the warehouse. He instinctively grabbed hold of his throat, attempting to choke him. Diggle and Felicity ran over and pulled him off.

"Oliver let him go!" Diggle told him.

"What the hell is going on?" Oliver asked.

"You we're injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant." Felicity told him.

"You would have stroked out," Barry continued. "But fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin, better known as rat poison."

"So you poisoned me?" Oliver asked.

"The kid saved your life Oliver." Diggle told him.

"I think this is the point of the life-saving where you thank the person that did the life-saving." Felicity added.

"You told him who I am?" Oliver asked turning towards them.

"Actually, I found that out on my own." Barry explained. "Your hood fell off after you were attacked, and I saw your face. That's when I brought you here."

"How'd you even know I was operating out of here?" Oliver asked, still irritated.

"I didn't." Barry told him. "I checked anywhere that could server as your base when I found out who you were. Your mansion, Queen Consolidated-"

"You were in my home?!" Oliver let out.

"I was trying to get you somewhere safe?!" Barry countered. "So what, yelling at me for being thorough is the thanks I get for saving you? What's next, an arrow in my back?"

"I'm considering it!" Oliver yelled.

"Don't worry he's kidding." Felicity interjected. "Look, how is this any different from when your mother shot you and came to me for help?"

"Your mother shot you?" Barry asked, confused.

"Or when Dig down here when he was poisoned by curare?" Felicity continued.

"The difference is I did my homework on both of you!" Oliver countered. "I don't just tell people easily."

"Hey, you don't have to thank me," Barry interjected. "but you're not entirely blameless here. You accused me of killing my own mother!"

"What?" Felicity let out.

"The blur you told me about sounded a lot similar to you moving at 'high speeds'." Oliver told him.

"It wasn't me." Barry insisted. "Why would I keep searching for the impossible in the world? Why would I save you if you suspected me?"

"Then tell me, Barry Allen, Who. You. Are." Oliver let out.

Barry let out a breath before speaking again.

"Alright," he replied. "I guess I do owe you all an explanation. What do you know about the S.T.A.R Labs Particle Accelerator explosion?"

Oliver turned to Felicity in confusion.

"Not too long after you left, S.T.A.R Labs founder Harrison Wells launched a Particle Accelerator in Central City." Felicity explained. "It um… didn't end well."

"Yeah well there was a massive storm that night," Barry continued. And as the accelerator blew, I tried to close the open roof in my lab. That's when I was struck by a bolt of lightning. A bolt of lightning that put me in a coma for three months. When I woke up," he held up his hand and began vibrating it at super speeds. "I was able to do this. My body was super charged. My cells able to regenerate at an immeasurable rate."

"Whoa." Felicity let out.

"I had a cousin who was hit by lightning once." Diggle shared. "He just developed a stutter."

That got a few smirks from Barry and Felicity.

"So why keep it a secret?" Oliver asked. "You're living proof the impossible is possible, why not come forward with it to help your father?"

Barry paused for a moment.

"… because I wasn't the only one affected by the accelerator that night." Barry told him. "When it went off, it unleashed several unknown elements into Central City, Anti-matter, dark matter, X-elements-"

"But those are all theoretical." Felicity interjected.

"That's what I thought," Barry replied. "But it's true. The wave spread through out Central City creating hundreds of, meta-humans."

"Meta-humans?" Diggle asked.

"That's what we call them." Barry answered. "After seeing how dangerous these kinds of powers could be in the hands of criminals, I decided to try and stop them."

"By becoming a super powered vigilante?" Diggle guessed.

"Pretty much." Barry confirmed. "That's why I came out here. We thought the thief was a meta-human affected by the accelerator outside of Central City."

"Hate to break it to you Barry but the man we fought didn't get his strength from a particle accelerator."

"Really?" Barry replied, curious. "Then how we he able to break down a steel door with his bare hands?"

"By being injected by a World War II Japanese super solider serum." Oliver told him. "I've seen how dangerous it can be before, and now he has everything he needs to mass produce it."

"Then we have to stop him." Barry declared.

"And 'we' will." Oliver told him. "You can go back to Central City so you can fight other speedsters and bank robbers who can fly."

"I actually haven't encountered any flying meta-humans," Barry told him. "but I have fought one that can control the weather."

Oliver just gave him an irritated look, forcing Barry to snap back into focus.

"Sorry." Barry said. "Look no offence Oliver, but the last time you fought this guy, you were almost toast. I can help."

"How?" Oliver asked. "By running around him really fast?"

"I can ID him." Barry told him, causing Oliver to raise an eyebrow. "The thief touched your skin when he grabbed your neck. I was able to absorb the residual oils from his skin which, when added to a gel based polymer, might be able to recreate his finger print.

Oliver just stood there, genuinely impressed. Before he could respond though, he heard his phone vibrating. He picked it up and saw a text message from Thea.

"I have to go." He told them before walking off.

Barry just heaved a sigh after everything was said and done.

"Well that went well." Barry let out.

"Never meet your heroes, right?" Felicity commented.

…

A little while later, Oliver returned to the Queen Mansion to see his mother setting up some holiday decorations.

"Mom?" he called.

"Thank you for coming sweetheart." She replied, turning to face him.

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"I don't know." Moira replied. "Your sister locked herself in her room, and she won't talk to me."

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her." He reassured before noting the decorations all around the house. "… it's Christmas."

"Yes," Moira confirmed inhaling deeply. "Though, after how our last gala we threw turned out, I think we're gonna skip our annual Christmas party."

Oliver just nodded in response before heading over to his sisters room. As he approached the door he began knocking.

"Thea, it's Ollive." He called out. "Open the door."

"Not now Ollie." Thea called back.

"Speedy, open the door!" he insisted.

"Is mom with you?" she asked, walking towards the door.

"No." Oliver confirmed, slightly confused.

Finally, Thea opened the door.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked.

"I didn't want mom to see." Thea told him.

"See what?" Oliver inquired.

Thea finally opened the door fully to reveal Roy on the bed with an arrow through his leg and Sin sitting next to him.

"What happened to him?" Oliver asked, entering the room.

"The vigilante decided to use him as target practice." Thea remarked. "You're right, that guys a psycho."

"Why didn't you go to a hospital?" Oliver asked.

"In this city, an arrow's the same as a bullet if you want the cops involved." Roy told him.

"And mom actually likes Roy." Thea added. "But something tells me she'd revoke his tree trimming invitation if she found out he was messing around with the Hood."

Oliver nodded in agreement as he walked over to Roy.

"Roy," he told him. "This is gonna hurt."

"My angers dulling the pain." Roy remarked.

"This will dull it better." Sin told him, holding up a bottle of whiskey.

Roy took a drink from it before Oliver took it and poured some on his wound, causing Roy to groan in pain. Oliver then wasted no time wrapping a towel around the arrow and slowly pulling it out.

"Put pressure on it." Oliver instructed as he put Roy's hand on the towel over the wound.

While Roy was keeping pressure on it, Oliver took out his phone and dialed up Diggle.

"Diggle I need you to come up to the Queen Mansion." Oliver told him. "Roy's been shot… with an arrow. It's a long story. Look, just bring the first-aid kit to Thea's room…thank you."

Oliver then hung up and turned back to the others.

"Roy, my driver, Mr. Diggle, he has medical training from his time in the army." Oliver told him. "He's gonna patch you up."

"Thank you." Roy replied.

"It's the… least I can do." Oliver told him. "Look, I don't know what the three of you are up to, but maybe the vigilante was just trying to keep you safe."

"By shooting Roy?" Thea asked, awestruck.

"I… I'm just saying." Oliver offered. "Maybe you should let this go."

With that, Oliver walked out of the room leaving the three of them, all determined not to let this go.

As Oliver walked down the hallway, he turned a corner and came face to face with Shado again.

"Shado?" Oliver let out as he walked towards her.

He put a hand to her cheek and he felt her. She seemed as real to him as his own sister and her friends we're not to long ago. Still, there was doubt.

"You can't be here." He told her.

"I had to see you." She replied. "Had to warn you."

"Warn me?" Oliver repeated, perplexed.

"You can't fight what's coming," she told him. "Put down your bow. Take off my father's hood."

"I wear that hood to honor your father." He insisted. "To honor you."

"If you wanna honor me," she replied. "Stop fighting… and live. Or everything you love will die."

Oliver just stood there, taking in his old friends words.

"Ollie?" Thea asked, causing Oliver to turn and face her. "Who were you talking to?"

Oliver turned back to see there was no one there. He wasn't sure how or why he saw her, but he was sure that he needed answers.

…

Back in the cave, Barry was looking around, slightly geeking out that he was in the lair of the Green Arrow.

"I still can't believe that Oliver Queen is the Green Arrow." Barry marveled. "I mean, I guess I shouldn't be, I mean, it was a bit obvious. Oliver returns from five years on a deserted island and in the same week a vigilante in a green hood showed up. I mean, come on."

"We did take steps to divert attention away from Oliver." Diggle told him.

"Right, I remember that." Barry recalled. "Regardless, this is still pretty cool."

"You run around Central City at over three hundred miles an hour and a guy with a bow and arrow impresses you?" Felicity asked.

"Well, Oliver got here first." Barry replied. "Plus you guys have taken down some pretty nasty characters. Like Dollmaker, Count Vertigo, Dodger, The Huntress."

"We never kept score." Diggle remarked.

"Well, I did." Barry admitted.

"Barry!" Oliver called out entering the cave. "The rat poison you gave me, are there any side effects?"

"Uh… yeah." Barry answered. "I think hallucinations, maybe. And excessive sweating. Why? Are you sweating excessively?"

"You're hallucinating?" Felicity guessed. "What are you seeing?"

"… a girl named Shad that was with me on the island." Oliver answered.

"So you did train in a jungle environment," Barry surmised, walking over to him. "hence the green. I knew it!"

Oliver just stared at him, making Barry feel uneasy.

"Hey, let me draw some blood," he offered. "See what's up."

The two walked over to a table so Barry could do his work.

"Hey can I ask you something?" Barry spoke again as he got to work drawing Oliver's blood. "Why no mask? I mean, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job, since I'm still new at this, but the grease paint thing… it's a poor identity concealer."

"You mean unlike your oversized hood?" Oliver jeered.

"Well…" Barry tried to respond.

"Find me a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and doesn't affect my ability to aim while on the run, then we'll talk." Oliver told him.

Barry was taken a back a bit, but was willing to take the challenge.

"I'll see what I can do." He replied.

"Found Cyrus Gold." Felicity spoke up.

"Who?" Oliver asked as everyone turned to face her.

"The living weapon you two tangled with." Diggle answered. "The kid did manage to pull his print off your neck."

"I've had facial recognition software scanning closed circuit cameras all over town." She told him. "He's at the corner of Delgado and 25th right now but we're just about to lose him."

"What else is at that intersection?" Oliver asked.

"A parking lot, a market, a motel." Felicity listed off.

"Could be where he's held up." Diggle proposed.

"I got this." Oliver said, turning around about to take off.

"Barry then sped right in front of Oliver's path.

"Oliver," he spoke. "If you're suffering from hallucinations, you may not be in the best shape to fight this guy. Why not let me handle him?"

"No offense Barry, but you seemed to have trouble with this guy last time as well." Oliver reminded.

"Fair enough," Barry admitted. "But still, if your minds not fully in it…"

Oliver took a moment to consider Barry's words.

"Fine." He relented. "But I'm coming as back up."

"Alright then." Barry replied.

"I'll come too." Diggle volunteered. "Never hurts to have an extra pair of eyes."

"Great!" Barry replied as they started heading out. "And don't worry Oliver. As soon as we get back, I'll figure out what's wrong with you."

"You'd be the first!" Felicity called out.

…

Meanwhile at the DA's office, Laurel was looking over a card that came with some flowers sent to her.

"Secret admirer?" Thea asked as she, Roy, and Sin walked in.

"No," she dismissed, putting the card down. "Actually, they're from my father. What brings you by?"

"We need your help." Thea told her. "Cindy's friend was murdered, but the police aren't going to investigate. They said that he ODed, end of story."

"I'm guessing it's not if you're here." Laurel assumed.

"Check this out." Sin said, handing her a flyer for the blood drive. "He earned extra money donating blood. We found it in Max's apartment. They wouldn't have accepted his blood if he was using, right?

"Max went missing the same day as the blood drive." Thea added. "If he did donate blood there, maybe they at least know something that happened to him."

Laurel considered all that she had heard, and admitted to herself that something seemed off about this.

"I'll ask around." She told them.

"Thank you, Laurel." Thea replied.

…

That night, Diggle and Oliver drove up to the motel where Cyrus Gold was held up. Diggle got out to investigate while Oliver stayed inside.

"If you get bored I keep a book of crossword puzzles in the glove box." Diggle joked as he made his way inside.

"That's not funny." Oliver replied.

Once inside, Diggle opened the door and had his gun at the ready as he made his way inside. Hearing something, he swung around and saw Barry standing in front of him.

"Whoa!" he let out. "Easy! I was just checking the perimeter. We're all good."

Diggle just lowered his gun in annoyance.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Just never gonna get used to that."

Barry just shrugged as he put a hand to one of the lightning bolts on his helmet.

"Oliver can you hear me?" he asked.

" _Loud and Clear."_ Oliver replied. _"What do you see?"_

"Rooms clean." Diggle reported. "Really clean."

Diggle and Barry kept looking around the room for clues. Barry saw a book on the counter and went over to take a look.

"Hey look at this." Barry called out as he took a closer look. "'Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday'."

"' _Christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday."_ Oliver continued. _"I know the poem. It symbolizes the seven stage of life. From birth to death."_

"Makes you wonder what stage this guy's in." Diggle remarked.

"Sickened on Thursday or worsened on Friday I hope." Barry replied.

"Afraid not." A voice called out.

Barry turned around just in time for Cyrus to back hand him, sending him flying into a wall as he made his way over to Diggle. Diggle unleashed several shots into Cyrus' chest, but they didn't seem to do anything as Cyrus grabbed Diggle's arm and twisted it, causing him to cry out in pain. Barry quickly got to his feet and dashed towards him. Cyrus let go od Diggle's arm in time to close line Barry, causing him to tumble to the ground.

"Get out of here!" he cried out.

Barry dashed at Cyrus again as Diggle made his way out a nearby window and onto the fire escape leading to the street below. Cyrus took another swing at Barry, but he just ducked under it. Barry then unleashed several speed punches to his chest, but they seemed ineffective. Cyrus then grabbed hold of Barry's arms and twisted them both, causing him to cry out in pain. Cyrus then kicked Barry in the chest, causing him to fly out the window Diggle went through, and tumble off the fire escape and onto the ground below. Diggle ran over and helped Barry to his feet as Oliver drove up. He put Barry in the backseat to lay down before getting in the front passenger seat.

"Go go go!" he told Oliver as they drove away as fast as they could.

"You two ok?" he asked.

"Don't worry about me," Barry replied, groaning. "I heal fast. How are you Dig?"

"In pain." He replied bluntly. "That guy picked me up like I was nothing."

"Felicity, call for back up!" Oliver called.

…

Later that night, Quinten met with Green Arrow on an abandoned rooftop. As Quinten got there he saw Arrow on the edge of the roof facing away from him.

"Smoak said this was urgent." Quinten called out as Arrow turned around. "What's up?"

"We… found the man who robbed the Queen Applied Sciences Division." Arrow told him, handing him a file. "His name is Cyrus Gold. He is extremely dangerous."

"The CSI kid from Central City…" Quinten responded. "he said this guy was like a monster."

"He is." Arrow confirmed.

"Well what is it, steroids?" Quinten asked.

"Worse it's…" Arrow began to reply.

The words died coming out of his mouth as he saw something behind Quinten. Another ghostly figure, but this time of someone else. His old friend and brother in arms; Slade Wilson. Arrow could hardly comprehend what he was seeing.

"Well, assuming I believe you," Quinten continued. "Why come to me?"

"I've been compromised." He reported.

"What does that mean?" Quinten asked, feeling confused.

"It means I'd be a liability." Arrow told him. "You have to take my word on this detective. Gather as many men as you can, and do not hesitate to kill Cyrus Gold. Because given the opportunity… he'll do the same to you."

Taking another look at what seemed to be the ghost of Slade, Arrow wasted no time firing a grappling arrow and descending off the building to the street below. Once on the ground, he pulled his hood back in shock, trying to comprehend what was happening to him.

 **Welp, this might be the longest chapter I've written for this story. Hope you're liking it, and I hope my integration of the Flash has been working so far. Stay tuned for more to come!**


	11. Three Ghosts part 2

The next morning, Oliver was surprised to hear a knock at the door of the Queen Mansion. He opened it to see Laurel standing there.

"Laurel." Oliver let out. "What are you doing here?"

"Thea asked me for help on something." Laurel replied.

"Oh well, come in." he gestured, welcoming her inside. "She's upstairs in her room."

"Thanks." Laurel responded.

"You know I… haven't seen much of you lately." Oliver admitted.

"I've been keeping busy." Laurel informed him.

"With the Anti-Vigilante task force?" Oliver guessed.

"Uh, actually I'm not part of that anymore." Laurel admitted.

"Really?" Oliver replied surprised. "You seemed pretty intent on bringing the vigilante in."

"Yeah, well that was before the Dollmaker." Laurel replied.

"Him saving your life?" Oliver assumed.

"That," she confirmed. "And that he was willing to spare his life. I didn't think he had that in him, it was…something."

Oliver propped up a bit in surprise due to her choice of words.

"Right…" he replied.

"Um, well I should go talk to Thea." She said before heading up stairs.

Oliver just looked towards her as she went up, still mauling over her words. He knew he had heard them somewhere before.

…

Up in Thea's room, Laurel filled in Roy, Thea, and Sin on what she had found.

"I checked into the blood drive, and it's all legitimate." She told them. "In fact, what Sebastian's done has helped save a lot of lives."

"So if the blood drive is on the up and up, then how are we supposed to find Max's killer?" Sin asked.

"There's one other thing." Laurel informed, showing the three a file she brought with her. "All of the blood donors at the drive were subjected to a psych evaluation by the Langford Institute."

Is that, like, legal?

"It's not entirely out of the norm." Laurel admitted. "And while someone at the institute might know if Max was on drugs, there's no way of finding out without a warrant. Which we're certainly not going to get. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

…

Back in the cave, Felicity walked up to Barry, who was now wearing civilian clothes, as he was messing with some chemicals.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Uh, just messing around with something." Barry replied.

"Shouldn't you be trying to figure out what's causing Oliver's hallucinations?" she reminded.

"One of the benefits of being a speedster," he replied, zipping over to another computer. "Excellent at multi-tasking."

"That is insanely cool." She complimented.

"Yeah," he agreed. "You know it's funny. I've been searching for the impossible most of my life, but I never once expected that I would 'become' the impossible."

"Must have been pretty crazy then." She assumed. "Waking up and being able to do what you can do."

"Yeah," he concurred. "But I was able to work through it. One of the hard parts though is not being able to tell… people."

Felicity took note of the drop in Barry's voice on that last part.

"People, or just one person?" Felicity guessed.

Barry let out a sigh of defeat.

"…Iris West." He confirmed.

"Ah." Felicity let out. "She must be pretty special."

"Best friends since we were kids." He confirmed. "And I be lying if I said I didn't feel… something more. But I waited too long and by the time I woke up, she was already with someone else."

"Yikes." Felicity let out.

"Yeah," Barry agreed. "It's hard to have feelings for someone, who doesn't look at you the same way."

At that moment, Felicity looked up to see Oliver entering the room with a tennis ball, bow, and arrow.

"Hey." She greeted, causing Barry to turn around.

"How are you feeling?" Barry asked him.

"Fine." he told them. "Just… It's a little bit crowded at my house, and I…wanted to come down here to get a little privacy."

"Yeah." Felicity agreed as she and Barry got up. "Come on, Barry."

"Can we grab a bite to eat?" he asked. "I have to consume like, 10,000 calories a day."

"Sure, come on." She replied.

"Your blood analysis is almost done." Barry told Oliver.

"Thank you." Oliver replied as the two took off.

Once he was alone, Oliver took up position ready to get in some target practice. He threw the tennis ball on the ground. It proceeded to bounce as Oliver readied his arrow. Finally, he let it loose towards its target. Instead of hitting the ball though, it was caught by someone. Not just any someone though; Slade Wilson. Oliver lowered his bow in shock.

"What's the matter, kid?" Slade asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Oliver just looked on in horror as Slade looked around the cave.

"This is a nice place." Slade complimented. "It's a bit more comfortable than the fuselage on the island."

"You're not real." Oliver told him

"Neither are you." Slade retorted, looking at the Green Arrow costume. "You told everyone when you started this crusade that it was about making up for your father's sins. That was a lie."

Slade then proceeded to snap the arrow in his hands before letting the pieces drop to the floor.

"This charade is to atone for your sins." He continued.

"You're dead." Oliver insisted.

"You are not a hero. Or a friend. Or a brother. You are nothing."

Oliver just turned around, unable to hear anymore.

"Do not turn your back on me! Slade yelled. "Not again."

"You're gone." Oliver replied, trying to ignore him.

"Wherever I am," Slade decided. "It's time you joined me."

Slade then proceeded to push Oliver into a table. Oliver quickly turned around and tried swinging at him with his bow. Slade simply ducked under it and knocked the bow out of his hands. He then grabbed Oliver by the shoulder and threw him behind him.

"They say a coward dies a thousand deaths." Slade told him. "But even that wouldn't be enough for you."

"I tried to save you!" Oliver yelled. "And her."

"But you couldn't." Oliver reminded. "Just like you couldn't save this city."

The two then proceeded to attack each other. They matched blow for blow but Slade inevitably got the upper hand. He punched Oliver in the chest before knocking him across a table behind him, knocking over its various contents before falling to the ground. Slade overturned the table as he walked over to Oliver before picking him up.

"The island didn't make you strong, kid." Slade told him. "It revealed just how weak you are"

With that, Slade threw him into the display case, shattering it to pieces as Oliver and the mannequin fell to the ground. Oliver got up only to find that Slade was gone, as if he was never there.

…

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Laurel were strolling along the streets of Starling.

"Thank you for being my shopping guide." He told her, before noting her face. "Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah," Laurel replied quickly. "it's just, um, can I ask you a question? It's about the blood drive you sponsored."

"Of course." He replied. "It's a wonderful cause. Especially with the underfunded hospitals we're dealing with. What about it?"

Before she could ask, her cell phone started going off.

"Sorry." She told him before answering. "Hello?... What?!... Ok, I'll be right over."

"What happened?" Sebastian asked as she hung up.

"My father, um…He's in the ICU." She told him, starting to tear up. "I'm so sorry, I have to go."

…

Back in the cave, Oliver was sweeping up the glass of the broken display case as Barry, Felicity, and Diggle came in.

"What happened in here?" she let out. "Did someone break in?"

"No." Oliver replied bluntly.

Just then, Barry heard one of the computers beeping

"Your blood analysis is done." He said looking at the results. "Good news."

"So you know what's in my system?" Oliver guessed.

"That's the thing, your blood's clean." Barry told him. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why am I hallucinating?!" Oliver demanded.

"I don't know." Barry replied, raising his hands in protest. "But whatever your problem is, it's not pharmacological. It's psychological."

"It's in my head." Oliver deduced.

"Pretty much." Barry confirmed.

"Oh, my God." Felicity let out.

"What is it? Oliver asked as he and the others walked over.

"Got word on the unit that tried to bring in Cyrus Gold." Felicity told them. "He nearly killed them all. Quinten just got admitted to the ICU ward."

"We should have been there." Barry let out.

Oliver just scowled at the screen Felicity was looking at. The time for sitting out on the sidelines was over.

…

At the hospital, Laurel was sitting next to her unconscious father. She snapped up at the sound of her dad groaning as he woke up.

"Dad!" she let out.

"Honey." Quinten said, still feeling sore.

"How are you feeling?" Laurel asked.

"Well, I can wiggle my toes, it must be a good sign." He remarked, getting a slight chuckle from Laurel. "I'm all right, honey, I'm fine. How's Lucas, is he all right?"

"I…I'm sorry." Laurel told him.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Laurel just sat there silent. That was the conformation Quinten needed.

"I got to call Jeannie." Quinten said. "I got to call his wife."

"No, Dad, I'll do it." Laurel insisted. "You just…stay here. Get some rest."

Laurel then went out of the room to call Jeannie. As she entered the hallway, she was greeted by Sebastian Blood walking up to her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Wanted to make sure your father was ok." He told her.

"He is." She confirmed.

"I wanted to make sure you were, too." He added, trying to comfort her.

Laurel simply smiled before falling into his embrace and receiving some much needed comfort.

…

Back in the room, Quinten was trying to get comfortable when he was greeted by a familiar hooded friend.

"How are you, Detective?" Arrow asked.

" I'm alive." He answered. "Unlike most everyone else in my unit."

"I'm sorry about your partner."

"I took him in there."

"Because of me." Arrow insisted.

"I hate to disappoint you, but not every death in this city is on you." Quinten told him before putting a key on the table next to him. "I got this off Gold. Hopefully you can do something with it."

Arrow took the key and was about to take off before Quinten spoke up again.

"I didn't believe it at first," he let out. "but this guy, I mean, it's like he's not human."

"…He's human." He assured.

"Well, then you can kill him." Quinten told him. "For Hilton…and me."

…

Later at the cave, Oliver got to work sharpening several arrows.

"I think those are sharp enough." Diggle remarked.

"Apparently I'm not." Oliver replied, turning to face him. "Diggle, do you think I'm losing my mind?

"No more than the rest of us." Diggle said bluntly.

"I saw…Slade Wilson." He confided. "Slade was my friend on the island, and like Shado, he is dead because of me."

Diggle let out a breath upon hearing Oliver's words.

"Mr. Lance just told me that not every death in this city is my fault." Oliver continued. "Fine, but there are plenty that are."

"When I got home from Afghanistan, I…saw a ghost, too." Diggle shared. "Survivor's guilt. Why us, not them.

"I know why." Oliver told him.

"Then the "why's" not your problem." Diggle reasoned.

"How'd you make your ghost go away?" Oliver asked.

" I figured out what they were trying to tell me." Diggle answered.

"Which was?"

"That's for me to hear, Oliver." Diggle replied. "You have to figure out what yours is trying to tell you."

"Guys, I think we found something!" Barry called out.

"I scanned the key Lance gave you, and traced its serial code back to the manufacturer." Felicity told them as they walked up.

"This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades." Barry added.

Knowing what he had to do, Oliver grabbed his bow and started to head out.

"Where are you going?" Felicity asked. "You can't go out there in your condition."

"I have to stop this." Oliver told her.

"Oliver, Gold left you half dead," she reminded "which is 50 percent better than how he left Detective Hilton."

"Felicity I don't have a choice." Oliver insisted.

"Then why not have some back up at least?" Barry volunteered. "Oliver we came close to beating him last time and that was only because we worked together."

Oliver paused for a moment, allowing Barry's words to sink in.

"You're right," Oliver conceded. "Neither one of us can beat him alone."

"So," Barry said, holding out his hand. "Partners?"

Oliver barely wasted a moment taking his hand and shaking it.

"Partners." He agreed.

…

Around that same time, Roy decided to pay a visit to the Langford Institute to find out information on Max. Once he made it inside, he went over to a file cabinet and sifted through the files looking for any useful information. After a bit of looking, he finally found the file. While he was looking through it, he found a picture of Max with the word 'Mirakuru printed on the back. Just then, Roy heard a door open and proceeded to hide. As he hid, he heard someone pouring something on the ground. A quick sniff revealed it to be gasoline, meaning someone wanted to destroy any evidence connected to this place. Thinking fast, Roy dashed out and pushed the guy over as he made his way out of the room. As he continued running through the halls, an arm came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. Roy's vision became fuzzy as the burly figure of Cyrus Gold stood over him

…

Some time later, Roy woke up to find himself strapped down to a table with Cyrus standing behind him and the man from the institute grabbing a syringe of serum from a machine and handing it to a man in a skull mask.

"It's ready." The man told Brother Blood

"Is this where you killed Max Stanton, hmm?" Roy asked defiantly as Brother Blood came closer. "What are you doing? If you stick that in me, I'll kill you."

"No, brother Roy." Blood told him as he grabbed Roy by the neck. "You'll kill for me."

He then proceeded to inject Roy with the serum. Roy started to groan in pain. Suddenly, a hole in the ceiling was blasted open, and from that hole, Green Arrow zipped down to the lab. The man tried to pull a gun on him, but a flash of light grabbed the gun out of his hands. The man turned to see Barry standing next to him.

"Nice try." He told the man before knocking him out.

"Brother Cyrus told me he killed you." Blood said addressing Arrow directly.

"Guess he's not as strong as you'd hoped." Arrow countered. "Where'd you get the Mirakiru? Who gave you the formula?!"

"It was a gift." Blood told him. "A gift I would use to save this city from itself."

Roy continued groaning in pain as Cyrus ran towards them. Green Arrow tried firing an arrow at him, but he seemed unphased by it as he continued running towards them. He tried taking a swing at Arrow, but Arrow ducked under it as he grabbed hold of the rope he came in on. He tried swinging at Cyrus but Cyrus just punched him into a wall, causing part of it to break off as he hit it. Barry then unleashed several speed punches to his face. Cyrus tried swinging at him, but he just kept running around him. Finally, Cyrus hit him, sending him flying into the same wall Arrow landed at. Arrow tried getting up, but Cyrus just kicked him across the room. While that was going on, Roy started bleeding from his eyes as he cried out in pain. Finally, all his screaming stopped as he just slumped over. Blood went over to check his pulse. Nothing.

"Another failure." He reported.

Arrow just fell over in defeat upon hearing that. Barry started getting up as Cyrus came towards.

"Arrow, come on!" Barry called out. "I need you, get up. Come on get up!"

Oliver couldn't hear him, he was too lost in his failure. That is, until what happened next.

"Get up, Oliver." A new voice said.

Oliver looked up to see the image of another dead friend, this time, it was Tommy Merlyn.

"Tommy?" Oliver let out as Tommy crouched down to him.

"You're not going to die down here." Tommy told him.

"Tommy, I'm sorry." Oliver said, barely able to keep himself together. "I let you die."

"You didn't let me die, Ollie." Tommy corrected. "You fought to save me. Because that's what you do. What you have always done. You fight to survive. I know I called you a murderer, but you are not. You are a hero. You beat the island. You beat my father. So fight, Oliver. Get up and fight back."

Oliver's doubt seemed to have vanished. His resolve stronger than ever. Just in time it seemed since Cyrus grabbed Barry by the throat and lifted him into the air.

"Kill him." Blood ordered.

Before Cyrus could complete the order, an arrow was fired into his back. He dropped Barry and turned around to see Green Arrow running towards him. Before he could react, he leapt into the air and struck Cyrus in the face with his bow. He then continued striking him in the face and stomach faster than Cyrus could keep up with. Barry quickly regained his senses and joined in the attack, unleashing one quick punch after another at his legs back, and everywhere else he could. The two heroes unleashed one attack on Cyrus after another, not giving the brute an ounce of leeway. When Cyrus did try swinging at them, Barry grabbed Arrow and sped them out of the way. He then dashed towards Cyrus and run around him super fast. Once he finally stopped, he punched Cyrus in the face and sent him colliding with a wall. Arrow then took out an explosive arrow and fired it at the centrifuge, causing it to blow up, dousing him in serum as the explosion covered him and the man in rubble. During the explosion, Blood made his escape to avoid capture. Arrow and Barry didn't take notice though, because their attentions were directed back to Roy. They both made their way over to his fallen chair and freed him from his restraints.

"Come on kid!" Oliver let out as he started compressions. "Come on!"

Barry took note of Roy's unresponsive nature.

"Oliver…" he started to say.

"No!" Oliver cried out as he continued. "I am not leaving anyone else to die! You're strong, kid. Come on! Come on! Come on, Roy! Fight! Come on, fight!"

Finally, Roy gasped for air, causing both Oliver and Barry to let out a sigh of relief.

…

Later that night, Roy was resting in Thea's room at Queen Manor when Thea and Sin came in.

"Roy?!" Thea cried out as she and Sin ran over. "Hey, Roy! Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

"I was…" he started to reply before contemplating what had happened. "I was running down another lead. It didn't pan out."

"I thought you were chasing after the Vigilante again." She told him. I got so scared. I thought something happened to you."

"Hey, hey, don't worry." He reassured, taking hold of her hand. "I'm alive."

…

Back at the cave, Oliver and Barry returned to be greeted by a very happy Diggle and Felicity.

"Man am I happy you two are ok." Felicity told them, coming up and hugging them both.

"Appreciate the concern." Barry replied.

"Still have a ghost problem?" Diggle asked Oliver.

"No." he reassured. "I got the message. But we… we have other problems."

"Wouldn't be us if we didn't." Diggle remarked.

"Your friend Roy was injected with the serum." Barry told them

"Oh, my God, is he ok?" Felicity let out.

"He's alive." Oliver answered, putting his bow away. "But we are going to have to keep an eye on him."

"And Cyrus Gold?" Diggle asked.

"Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday." Oliver remarked.

"And that was the end of Solomon Grundy." Barry added smirking a bit.

"But he was working with someone." Oliver continued. "I saw him, he wore a mask with the image of a.. of a skull."

"It looks like he's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army." Barry concluded.

"For what?" Diggle asked.

"You're a soldier." Oliver told him. "What's the primary purpose of an army?"

"War." Diggle answered.

…

Across town in an office building, Sebastian Blood walked into an office where at a rather large desk, sat his benefactor, who had his chair turned away from him while he was watching a news report on Blood's announcement to run for Mayor. He turned it off as Blood approached him.

"So your campaign begins." He noted.

"The city needs a leader." Sebastian replied. "And putting the copycat hoods up to assassinating the mayor was just the first step."

Sebastian paused for a moment before speaking next.

"The vigilante…" he started to say. "He destroyed the centrifuge, and the serum along with it."

"I will arrange for you to receive another sample of my blood, so you can begin to mass produce the serum." He told him, with just the slightest amount of distain in his voice. "But remember something."

Sebastian froze up a bit.

"When I ask you not to confront the vigilante, you will listen." He ordered. "Remember your mask can be worn by another."

Sebastian gulped in intimidation.

"You know who he is under that hood, don't you?" he guessed.

"I know exactly who his is."

The man then turned around to face him. It was revealed to be a man with slightly greyed hair, a beard, and eye patch over his right eye. This was the face of Slade Wilson.

"He's my friend."

"That's why you don't want him dead." Sebastian put together.

"Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence has yet to be carried out."

Sebastian took a step back as he continued to listen.

I'm going to tear everything he cares about away from him."

…

Quinten just continued looking at his partners badge as he sat in his hospital bed.

…

"Destroy those who choose to follow him."

…

Roy pulled back the blankets of the bed he was on to take a look at his injured leg, only to see that his wounds were heaped, much to his surprise.

…

"Corrupt those he loves."

…

Laurel stood on the edge of a rooftop, surveying the city and trying to decide where she could do the most good as the Black Canary.

…

"Once he has lost everyone and everything he values…" Slade concluded. "I will drive an arrow through his eye."

…

Out in the city, Barry was standing on a rooftop when Oliver walked up to him from behind.

"Felicity tells me you're heading back to Central City." Oliver relayed, causing Barry to turn and face him.

"Yeah," Barry confirmed. "Well, my captain said I should come back if I still want my job."

"Understandable." Oliver replied.

Barry noted Oliver was holding something in his hand.

"I see you found my gift for you." Barry observed.

"Yeah," Oliver replied before changing the subject. "Look I wanted to say I'm sorry about accusing you before."

"Hey, considering you almost died before, I'd say all's good." Barry reassured.

"Good. I also wanted to say thanks for your help." Oliver told him. "I couldn't imagine pulling this off without you."

"Hey I should be thanking you." Barry insisted.

"For what?" Oliver asked, a little confused.

"For letting me work with you." Barry told him. "I've read a lot of your stories over the past year or so. I kept thinking, if a guy like that could do all this, then maybe I could do that with the power I have. Made me feel like I was more than just some guy who was struck by lightning."

Oliver smirked up a bit.

"Barry, do you mind if I make a bold statement?" Oliver asked.

"What?"

"I don't think that bolt of lightning struck you Barry, I think it chose you."

Barry raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Chose me?" Barry repeated. "For what?"

"To be better." Oliver answered. "Better than I am."

Barry continued to listen to what he had to say.

"I've seen how you are with the others." Oliver continued. "You can inspire people in a way I never could. Watching over your city like a guardian angel, saving people, in a flash."

Barry smiled at what he heard. He then held out his hand in response.

"Thanks Oliver." Barry said as Oliver shook his hand.

"You bet Barry." Oliver replied.

Barry let go and pulled his mask up to get ready to take off.

"Hey!" Oliver called out.

Barry turned around and saw Oliver with his hood pulled up, and wearing a new green domino mask over his face. One that Barry made for him personally.

"Thanks for the mask!"

Oliver then jumped off the edge of the roof. Barry ran over to see Oliver shoot a grappling arrow and zip away into the night.

"Cool." He let out.

"Oliver landed on an adjacent building just in time to see Barry speed away and out of the city in a flash.

"Cool." He let out.

 **Well that was fun! Sorry there wasn't much Laurel/Oliver stuff in this one, but I promise to make up for that soon. I'll have to look over Blast Radius to be sure but I'm not sure how many changes I can make to that, but we'll just have to wait and see. Hope you enjoyed the Flash crossover in this one and I hope you stay tuned for more.**


	12. Blind Spot part 1

**I'm Baaaaaack! Not too much added perhaps, but that will change with the second one I promise. I tried writing out something for Blast Radius but I just wasn't feeling it. So I decided to move forward with this one. Besides, it progresses the plot further so it has that going for it. Hope you enjoy!**

Another dim night in Starling City. For those who pursue justice however, there seems to be no rest for them. Green Arrow is one of those people. Ever since teaming up with Barry, now calling himself the Flash, he was in pursuit for the man in the skull mask who possessed the Mirakuru formula. This man seemed poised to create an army of Mirakuru based soldiers unless Green Arrow found and put an end to him.

On this particular night, he had tracked down another street punk and trapped him in a corner, firing one warning shot after another.

"Please!" he let out. "I don't know anything."

"The man in the skull mask," Arrow continued, seemingly ignoring his pleas. "Where is he?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." the man insisted.

"He's been experimenting on people in the Glades." Arrow informed. "He's leaving a trail of corpses with blood running from their eyes."

"No, no no no." the man replied. "I deal in stolen merchandise. That's it."

Arrow just let off another shot in response, much to the thugs dismay.

"No no. Please!"

 _"Ask him what color his shoes are."_ Felicity told him over comms.

"What?" Arrow asked in confusion.

 _"Hey, you want this guy to take a polygraph via Bluetooth, cool. But I need him to establish a base line. I need to hear him tell the truth just once."_

"...What color are your shoes?" Arrow asked the thug.

"What?" the thug asked before looking down at his feet. "They're blue."

 _"... He's not lying."_

"Please..." The thug was about to plead as he looked up.

However, as he looked, Arrow was gone.

...

A good distance away, Arrow perched himself on a rooftop, looking out over the city.

"He's out there." Arrow spoke. "Somewhere."

 _"Well it doesn't look like you'll find him tonight."_ Felicity observed. _"Have you reached out to Black Canary? Maybe she's found something."_

"She's keeping an ear out," Arrow relayed. "But it doesn't look like she knows anymore than we do."

 _"Then why don't you pack it up for the night and come on home."_ Felicity suggested.

...

Elsewhere in the city, more crime fighting activities were underway. A small group of thugs were in the midst of a drug deal in a warehouse when the Black Canary decided to crash their party. The thugs continued opening fire at Canary as she ran through the rafters. Finally, she jumped to the ground behind two thugs. As they turned to face her, Canary knocked the gun out of one of the thugs hands with her baton before kicking him in the chest, knocking him down. Canary then crouched down and swept the other thug's legs out from under him. As the gun fire persisted, Black Canary dove behind some boxes to protect herself. One of the thugs moved in and tried to finish her off, but all he got was a kick to the gut before getting smacked in the head by a baton. Finally, Canary came out from behind the boxes and unleashed her sonic scream, knocking all the thugs in the warehouse down to the ground. As she finished her scream, the sound of police sirens filled the air causing her to smile.

"I'll let the police worry about you punks." She remarked as she started to walk out.

On her way out, she smacked a thug in the head with her baton as he tried to get up.

...

Not too long after, Laurel returned to her apartment through the window. Once inside, she took off her mask and wig and threw them aside. She also took her batons out of her belt and placed them on her dresser, next to a small orange bottle.

After shedding her costume, taking a shower, and redressing in some proper sleep attire, Laurel was all set to turn in for the night when her cellphone started to ring. Curious of who would be calling at this hour, Laurel decided to answer it.

"Hello?"

 _"Hello, Ms. Lance. This is Nurse Downey from St Walkers. You asked me to call if there was any change's in Maya Resiks condition... I'm sad to report she passed away."_

"What?" Laurel asked, shocked.

 _"Her heart just gave out on her. Poor soul."_

"Um... odd question but... did any one else visit her besides me?"

 _"Just her nephew Sebastian Blood. Why?"_

...

"You think Sebastian Blood, the saint of Starling City, killed his own mother?" Adam asked when Laurel came to talk to him the next day.

"He was the last person to see her alive." She argued. "That can't be a coincidence."

"He's a devoted nephew visiting a sick relative." Adam dismissed. "You're right, that's very suspicious."

"He didn't go there to visit her!" Laurel insisted. "He went there to kill her to cover up the fact that as a child, he killed his own father. Maya told me what happened."

"From inside a padded room, right?" Adam guessed.

"He had her forcibly committed." Laurel countered. "She tells me the truth, and then two days later has a heart attack. You don't find that strange?"

"Well for one thing, there's no record that Maya Resik was even Blood's mother and according to the hospital she was in the late stages of heart disease." Adam rebutted.

"I need you to call in a favor to Judge Carlin." Laurel asked. "Get a search warrant for Sebastian's campaign headquarters, his phone records, I have to start somewhere."

"Laurel, this isn't some casual request." Adam shot down. "I'm the ADA who took Vertigo on live TV. I take a shot at Sebastian Blood and miss, my career is done."

"Adam," Laurel called out as he started to walk out. "Please."

"I'm sorry Laurel," Adam replied. "You're on your own."

With that, Adam walked out of the office, leaving Laurel to come up with a new plan to investigate Sebastian. Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind.

...

Across town, Oliver entered the cave after trying to talk to Roy about him rescuing his family from some falling debris at a rally a few days ago, to no avail unfortunately.

"Has Roy said anything about the man in the skull mask who injected him?" Felicity asked as Oliver entered the cave.

"Roy's not the kind of guy who's comfortable discussing his feelings." Oliver replied.

"Not like you and me." Diggle remarked.

"Don't yell at me, but I think we need a new plan on how to find this creepy mask guy." Felicity shared. "Scaring the crap out of low lives isn't yielding results."

"Felicity, at this point I am open to any and all suggestions." Oliver admitted.

"Oliver, maybe we're over thinking this." Diggle suggested. "What if the mask simply got wind you were after him and skipped town"

"No, Dig," Oliver dismissed immediately. "He didn't go to all the trouble of recreating the serum and testing it on people just to walk away. He is still out there, and we need to locate him."

Just at that moment, Oliver's cellphone started going off. Felicity picked it up to see who it was.

"Lance." She read off. "For the Green Arrow."

Oliver took it and answered it.

"What can I help you with Detective?" Oliver asked.

 _"Actually, it's what 'I' need help with."_ A voice not Quinten Lance's answered.

Oliver was able to recognize it as the Black Canary, but was still surprised by the realization.

"How did you get this phone?" he demanded.

 _"Relax, I didn't hurt Lance."_ She reassured. _"I just needed a way to get a hold of you."_

"Why?" Oliver inquired.

 _"Meet me tonight at the rooftop where we first met."_ Canary told him. _"I'll explain everything then."_

...

That night, Canary stood on the rooftop in wait while holding a file in her hand. She then felt a presence behind her, she knew exactly who it was.

"Thanks for agreeing to meet with me." She said, turning around to face him.

"You seemed pretty hellbent on this to break into a police precinct just to call me." Arrow responded.

"Well I didn't have your number," She replied. "And your groupie hasn't been around lately."

"It's complicated." He told her. "What was so important you wanted to meet?"

"I think I know who your mystery masked man is." She presented.

"Who?" Arrow asked, now seeming intrigued.

"Sebastian Blood." She answered.

Green Arrow was taken aback by this. He wasn't sure how to react if what Canary was suggesting was true.

"You sure about this?" Arrow inquired.

"I've done a bit of researching." She told him, handing him the file. "Blood didn't just give Gold his powers, the two knew each other for years. They grew up together in the same orphanage."

"Wouldn't the police know this if they were investigating Gold?" Arrow suggested, looking through the info given to him.

"Not if it was covered up." Canary countered. "Trust me, Blood would do anything to cover up his past... even kill his own mother."

"...Why would he do that?" Arrow asked.

"To cover up the fact that as a child, he killed his own father." She told him.

Arrow stood silent for a moment, try to process all of this.

"So why come to me?" Arrow asked. "You seem like you have a bead on things."

"Because you have resources that I don't." She told him. "Presenting this to the police or the DA would be fruitless given how beloved Sebastian is."

Arrow remained silent again, thinking all this over.

"You once asked me to trust you to try and save this city," She reminded him. "Well now I'm asking you to trust me. Sebastian Blood is dangerous and you're the only one who can help me stop him."

...

The next day at Queen Consolidated, Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity were sitting at the board table while Felicity was checking over some records.

"Looks like Canary might be on to something." Felicity admitted. "I hacked into Blood's phone records. The Alderman and Gold have stayed buddies since Zandia Orphanage."

"So what?" Diggle dismissed standing up. "They stayed in touch. That doesn't mean that Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask."

"Well his last name is Blood." She threw out. "That can't be a good sign."

"Felicity, he's dedicated his life, risked his life to help the people of the Glades." Diggle insisted. "And you think in his spare time, he's a murderer trying to create an army of human weapons?"

"You're a personal bodyguard who fights crime at night with his billionaire boss." Felicity countered.

"She has a point." Oliver admitted. "Some people are good at hiding their real face in public."

"I thought Sebastian was your friend?" Diggle recalled.

"He is..." Oliver told him. "But it would be wise to consider all our options."

Diggle let out a huff of defeat.

"Alright," he relented. "Where do we start?"

"First we verify if Sebastian really killed his father." Oliver decided, handing Felicity the file Canary gave him. "Fortunately Canary gave me a case number we can start with."

"I'll look into it." She reassured, heading off to get to work.

...

"Asking a cute girl to meet you down by the tracks, Harper?" Sin asked as she walked up to Roy. "Good think Thea and I are tight."

"I have to show you something." He told her, ignoring her remarks.

"Easy there tiger." She joked.

Roy then simply punched through a cement block that was in front of him. Sin then went to check out his hand but found nothing except some excess gravel on it.

"You're not even bleeding." She let out. "When did you start juicing?"

"I'm not." He told her.

"Then how do you explain what I just saw?" She let out.

"You remember that night around Christmas when I went missing?" He asked as he tried to move them along.

"Yeah, Thea and I were pissed." She informed.

"I never told you guys what really happened." He admitted. "You were right about your friend Max. He didn't OD, he was murdered. He was injected with something, and I was injected with the same thing, but it didn't kill me. It made me, It made me stronger."

"Thea must be freaking." Sin guessed.

"No. She doesn't know." He shared. "I don't want her to."

"Why not?" She asked.

"I can't, not yet." He continued. "Not until I know more about what happened to me. I don't want to scare her."

"And you're not worried about scaring me?" Sin asked, stopping dead in her tracks.

"Come on," Roy let out, turning to face her. "I was going crazy not telling someone."

"So what are you going to do?" She asked.

"Well, the Arrow once told me all I was good for was taking a beating." He recalled. "Maybe it's time I started handing out a few of my own."

"I don't follow." She admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"Now I don't need his help to protect this city." He told her. "Let's find us a bad guy."

...

That night, Felicity came to Oliver's office with her report.

"I have good news..." She told him. "And bad news. I suggest the good news first, it tends to soften the blow of the bad news."

Oliver just let out a huff.

"Ok, dealers choice." Felicity replied. "Good news is we found the case file on Sebastian Blood's dad's murder."

"Anything in it to suggest he killed him?" Oliver asked.

"Oliver meet bad news." Felicity replied, taking a seat next to Diggle.

"That file was sealed years ago." Dig told him.

"And since the file is over 27 years old there is no digital copy for me to hack." Felicity lamented. "The only hard copy is stored the old fashioned way in the city archives."

"So I go in and take it," Oliver decided. "The old fashioned way."

"Slight problem with that." Felicity countered. "And by slight I mean major, security in the file room is so old school you need a key card to get in which, even if you had, you wouldn't know where to start looking for the file."

Oliver took in all he had heard from Felicity trying to think of a way around the problem. Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

"An assistant DA would." He told them.

"You think that's a good idea?" Diggle asked. "Last I checked, Laurel had it out for the vigilante."

"Laurel's been off the anti-vigilante task force for months." Oliver told him.

"Around the same time Black Canary agreed to work with you." Felicity noted. "Funny coincidence."

Oliver paused for a moment, considering Felicity's observation.

"Yeah... funny." Oliver replied before heading out.

...

Laurel, meanwhile, returned to her apartment from work and made her way to her room. After dropping her purse and shrugging off her jacket, she reached under her bed and pulled out the box that contained her Black Canary gear, thinking of doing some patrolling around the city. Suddenly, she heard some rustling out in the living room. She replaced the box and slowly went out into the living room to see Green Arrow standing there.

"Hello Laurel." He greeted.

"Hey..." She greeted, surprised to see him there. "Been a while hasn't it?"

"I need your help." Arrow told her.

"With what?" Laurel asked.

"Finding evidence regarding Sebastian Blood." He answered.

...

After explaining everything, Laurel agreed and the two went to the archives. Arrow took out an explosive arrow and fired it at the lock of a ventilation shaft.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

"Whatever it takes." She replied.

Arrow nodded before opening the vent and activating his comms.

"We're going in." Arrow told Felicity.

 _"At least the security cameras are from this century."_ Felicity remarked, working her techno magic. _"And now they're toast. You've exactly seven minutes until the system reboots."_

While the guards were preoccupied by the downed security system, Laurel used her card to grant her and Green Arrow access to the records room.

"This could take a while." Laurel remarked, noting the sheer number of files present.

"You have six minutes." Arrow told her as they scoured through the shelves.

...

While Green Arrow and Laurel continued looking, Felicity kept trying to keep the cameras down so they could work undeterred. Unfortunately, her efforts were for naught, as the system was successfully rebooted, allowing security to regain control of the cameras.

"Uh oh." Felicity let out.

...

 _"Oliver."_ Felicity called as he and Laurel kept searching.

"What is it?" He asked.

 _"Looks like we got the one rent-a-cop with a brain here."_ She lamented. _"If there's a camera nearby, I would recommend hiding."_

Arrow bolted behind some shelves, but it was too late. The guards caught his image and proceeded to call the police.

 _"Starling's finest will be there any minute."_ Felicity warned him. _"You need to get out of there now."_

"We're not leaving without that file." Arrow told her rounding a corner to where Laurel was searching. "Laurel, we need to hurry."

"I'm looking. I'm looking." She insisted, searching one of the upper shelves.

She continued scouring through file after file, in a mad, desperate search of the file they desired. Until finally, she found the file she was looking for.

"Wait!" Laurel called out. "Case number SC43878! This is it!"

Just at that moment, the SWAT team burst in the room.

"Vigilante!" one of the officers called out. "We know you're in here!"

the SWAT continued flooding into the room as Arrow and Laurel made their way deeper in.

"They're blocking our only way-"

"It's not our only way." Arrow told her. "Get to the east wall and wait for me."

Laurel nodded and made her way to the wall. Arrow then drew an arrow and rounded a corner to face the SWAT team. He fired the arrow at a shelve, which contained a flash bang that blinded the officers. Arrow then bolted to the all where Laurel was waiting for him as he dodged the barrage of bullets being fired at him. Once he made it to the wall, he shot an arrow at the glass window, shattering it. He then bolted towards Laurel, grabbed her, and the two of them jumped out the window, riding down on a grappling arrow. Once they landed, Laurel was quick to open the file, only to discover that the file was completely empty.


	13. Blind Spot part 2

Later after Laurel returned home, Oliver reconvened with Diggle and Felicity to find out what happened.

"We tried going through all the security footage at the city archives to see if anyone swiped the file over the last few days." She told him.

"Did you see anyone?" Oliver asked.

"Just this."

Felicity then showed Oliver the footage. It seemed normal at first, but then then complete static.

"It's all been erased." She lamented.

"So what happened when you reversed the footprint to see who hacked in before you?" Oliver inquired.

"Struck out again." Felicity replied. "Must have been an inside job."

"Could Sebastian be responsible for this?" Oliver asked.

"Well as a city Alderman, Blood would have access to the files." Felicity admitted.

"So would anyone on city payroll." Diggle interjected.

"Why are so against me looking into this?" Oliver asked. "Black Canary is finally taking a chance with me and you're pushing me away from it."

Diggle let out a breath before responding.

"I just don't want you making her into another blind spot." Diggle told him. "You've bad experiences with those in the past."

"Look, I'm not trusting her blindly," Oliver insisted. "I'm just looking into a possible lead. Besides, Blood is running for Mayor. One mention of him killing his father and his political career is dead in the water. Doesn't that sound just a little bit suspicious to you?"

Diggle held his hands up in defeat.

"I just think you should give Blood the benefit of the doubt before nailing him as some criminal mastermind." Diggle insisted.

"I think I will," Oliver agreed, starting to head out. "In the meantime, keep digging into Blood's past, see if there's anything that could help us."

"On it." Felicity called back.

…

The next day at Sebastian's campaign office, Oliver popped by to talk with the soon to be Mayor.

"Looking for me?" Sebastian asked, walking up behind him.

Oliver turned around to see his friend standing before him.

"Hey, good to see you." Oliver greeted, shaking his hand.

"You too man." Sebastian replied. "Sorry, but I am in the middle of a polling snafu at the moment."

"I'll be quick." He told him. "It's just… someone was asking me about you the other day."

"Really?" Sebastian replied as they entered into his office. "Who?"

Oliver paused for a moment before responding.

"Laurel." He finally replied.

"Laurel?" Sebastian repeated, seemingly surprised. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm not sure." Oliver admitted. "She came to see me the other day and seemed off. Everything ok between you tow?"

"I'm not sure." Sebastian answered. "We've traded phone calls but… I've been campaigning, she's been busy with her job, we just haven't had time to connect."

"So nothing happened between you two?" Oliver inquired. "No fight or anything?"

"Oliver, if I didn't know any better I'd say it sounded like you were coming to me like a jealous ex-boyfriend." Sebastian jeered.

Oliver just chuckled in response.

"Just looking out for a friend." Oliver reassured. "And I hope you'll do the same."

"Of course." Sebastian confirmed. "Don't worry, I'll take care of Laurel."

With that, Sebastian went out ready to fulfill his promise to take care of Laurel, any way possible.

…

While all that was going on, Roy and Sin had found a criminal for them to take down. A man known as the Starling Slasher, a killer of prostitutes. After a bit of work, including a reluctant makeover from Thea and standing out in the cold night for who knows how long, a car finally pulled up. Eying Sin.

"You're new." He told her.

"Gotta start somewhere, right?" She replied, leaning on the open window.

"Get in." he told her.

She obliged and the two drove off.

…

A little bit later, the two pulled into a parking garage where the slasher parked.

"Romantic." Sin commented.

"You're pretty." He told her.

"You're disgusting." She remarked.

"I see you like to play rough." He noted, pulling out a knife.

Before he got the chance to use it though, Roy showed up, tearing the car door off and throwing the guy across the floor. Roy walked over to him as he tried to get back on his feet.

"Wait," he pleaded. "I have money."

"Keep it." Roy told him, kicking him in the stomach.

The kick sent him hurdling over the car, cracking the windshield, and colliding with a column. Roy went over and just kept kicking him in the stomach over and over again, with no sign of stopping. Sin saw Roy losing himself and ran over to stop him.

"Roy, stop it!" Sin yelled. "You're killing him!"

Without thinking, Roy smacked her away, sending her flying back. Finally snapping out of his haze, he ran over to check on her.

"Sin," he let out. "Sin I'm sorry."

"We have to call an ambulance." Sin told him.

…

Across town on a rooftop, Green Arrow found Black Canary again and went to inform her of all that had happened.

"How's the hunt going?" Canary asked.

"Not so good." Arrow admitted. "The file you directed me to was empty. We're back to square one."

"Damn." She let out. "Now what?"

"We need a new lead on his father's murder." Arrow told her.

"We may need to take a more direct approach." Canary suggested. "Checking his campaign office, his home phone records-"

"Hold it." Arrow interrupted. "We can't rush into things or take drastic actions recklessly."

"Then maybe we should go straight to the source." Canary suggested. "One of your patented intimidation visits might get a confession out of him."

"A forced confession." Arrow retorted. "Which would be completely useless."

"Well we have to try something!" Canary practically yelled. "The longer we wait, the more chance Blood has to hurt someone else."

"I know what he's capable of." Arrow responded sternly. "More than you could imagine."

"Then we should stop talking and take some action." Canary insisted about to walk past him.

Arrow then grabbed her by the arm, much to her surprise.

"Not if its going off half cocked without a plan." Arrow told her.

"Let me go." She demanded, pulling her arm free.

"You asked me to help you on this." Arrow reminded. "Now I'm asking you to trust me here."

"Well maybe I should handle this on my own after all." Canary retorted.

"I can't let you do that if you're going to do something drastic." Arrow warned.

The two stared each other down for a few moments. Canary then quickly kicked Arrow's bow out of his hands before spinning around and trying to elbow him in the face. Arrow grabbed the elbow and shoved her back. Canary turned back around and let loose several punches and kicks to Arrow, but he was able to block most of them. She then got a lucky kick in the stomach, causing him to stumble back a bit. She took advantage of his off balance state and spin kicked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Arrow quickly rolled on the ground before taking out one of his flachettes and threw it at Black Canary, slicing her on the arm. Canary clenched her arm in pain and dropped to her knee as Green Arrow got back to his feet.

"That's enough." Arrow declared as he got closer to her.

Before he could make another move, Canary turned towards him and let out a canary cry, launching him across the roof before landing on the ground. As he picked himself up, he saw that Black Canary was nowhere to be found.

…

Back at Sebastian's campaign office, Sebastian walked through the empty building before seeing someone in his office chair. That someone being Slade Wilson looking at a very particular file.

"Point blank range." He read off. "Single shot to the heart from a low angle. Obviously, the handiwork of someone quite scared… and very small. How come the police didn't arrest you?"

"I knew how to cover my tracks." Blood replied hesitantly.

"A skill you've obviously lost since you've gotten bigger." Slade remarked. "You know how close you came, to allowing the Green Arrow to destroy everything?"

"Someone spoke out of term." Sebastian insisted. "I've taken care of the problem."

Slade slammed his fist on the table before getting out of the chair and walking towards him.

"Your mother was not our problem." Slade told him. "Laurel Lance is."

"You were the one who told me to get close to her." Sebastian reminded. "You said that it was part of the plan to hurt the vigilante."

"It is, but you being sloppy isn't." Slade told him before grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the doorway. "Fix this, Mr. Blood. You don't want me to fix it for you."

Slade then released Blood and left the office. Blood decided to take immediate action and called on an old associate.

…

Rubbing the cut on her arm, Laurel walked down the hall towards her apartment. As she opened the door however, she saw that the place was ransacked. Fearing the worst, she walked through the apartment looking for the guilty party.

"Whoever you are," Laurel called out. "I'm calling the police!"

"No need to." A voice called back.

Laurel turned around to see Officer Daley standing behind her.

"Remember me?"

"Officer Daley, right?" Laurel responded. "What's this all about? What are you doing in my apartment?"

"I have a warrant." He told her.

Laurel was taken aback by this.

"A warrant for what?" She asked.

"Found these in the bedroom." Another officer reported, walking up with a plastic bag holding a container of pills.

"Those pills aren't prescribed to you, Ms. Lance." Daley told her. "That's a felony."

Laurel was so dumbstruck by the sight, she barely registered the cuffs being placed on her wrists.

"Ms. Lance, you're under arrest for possession of a controlled substance." Daley told her.

…

Laurel sat alone in the interrogation room waiting for someone to come in. she was both surprised and irritated by the evening's events. Finally, the door opened. Laurel turned to see, of all people, her father entering the room.

"I know how this looks," Laurel spoke, getting up and walking over to him. "But you have to listen to me. This whole thing is because of Sebastian Blood. He's trying to set me up. He knows I'm onto him, so he's trying to frame me."

"So he placed the drugs in your apartment?" Quinten asked.

"… Look just forget about the drugs." Laurel tried to insist. "The point is Sebastian is behind this witch hunt."

"Sebastian called your boss." Quinten told her. "He's worried about you."

"No, he… he wasn't worried about me." Laurel persisted. "He's trying to discredit me. Don't you see what's happening?"

"I see that you've tested positive for opiates." Quinten told her.

"What?" Laurel let out. "No, I-"

"I see that you've been lying to me," He continued, taking out the pills and slamming them on the table. "and I see that you've been stealing from me."

Laurel stared at the pills for a moment.

"I can explain." She told him. "I hadn't touched those in months."

"So you admit you took them." Quinten deduced.

"Yes, but-"

"The paranoia, you looking like hell," Quinten listed off. "You got a problem Laurel. It's addiction."

"No." Laurel denied.

"It runs in the family." Quinten told her. "You can't pin it on Sebastian Blood."

"Dad, please!" Laurel pleaded as Quinten started walking away. "You have to believe me!"

Quinten turned back to his daughter and seeing the rising sadness in her eyes.

"Please." She let out.

"I'm sorry baby," He told her. "But I don't."

Quinten then exited the room, leaving Laurel devastated and furious.

Outside the interrogation room, Quinten walked past Oliver, who was there to check up on her.

"How is she?" Oliver asked.

"…I don't know." Quinten admitted. "Honestly, I don't know anything anymore."

"I'll… I'll get her home." Oliver offered.

"Thanks." Quinten replied before walking off.

Oliver turned back towards the interrogation room as Laurel was being led out by one of the guards. As she was walking, she holding her arm in discomfort. Oliver took note of the exact place her arm hurt and began to put some pieces together. He then pulled out his phone and dialed Felicity.

"Felicity?"

" _Hey, what's up?"_ Felicity replied. _"How's Laurel?"_

"Not sure yet." Oliver admitted. "I need a favor from you. Can you check all Laurel's financial records from after the Undertaking? Travel expenses? Train tickets?"

" _Yeah… but why?"_

"Call it a hunch."

…

At Starling City General, Roy and Sin just watched helplessly as the Starling Slasher laid comatose in a hospital bed. Finally, the doctor came out.

"How's he doing?" Roy asked.

"The damage to his head and lower abdomen is severe, he ruptured his spleen, and he has massive swelling in his brain." The doctor listed off. "Thankfully he got medical attention quickly so he's got a shot. You did a good thing here, Roy."

As the doctor walked off, Roy and Sin looked back in full of guilt and regret.

"What happened to you out there?" Sin asked.

"I don't know." Roy admitted.

"We nearly killed that guy." Sin reminded.

"Roy?" Thea's voice called out.

The two turned to see her walking up towards them.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"What are you doing here?" Roy questioned.

"Sin called me." Thea told him.

"Why did you do that?" Roy asked.

"Cause she was worried about you." Thea said before looking into the hospital room. "Who is that guy?"

"He was my date." Sin told her. "We put him there."

Thea was caught off guard by that last part.

"You… you did this?" She let out.

"Just drop it." Roy insisted. "Please."

Roy, something is happening to you." Thea told him. "I'm not judging you. I'm not angry with you. I'm on your side. I just wanna help you."

"You can't." Roy responded. "I… I got to go."

With that, Roy took off, leaving Thea in the dust.

"Roy!" She called out, to no avail.

After rounding the corner, Roy dropped to the ground and cried, unable to fully process what he had done or how to deal with it.

…

Back at Laurel's apartment, Oliver was helping Laurel clean up the mess the cops left when searching the place. Oliver said little to nothing the entire time, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Laurel.

"You haven't said much." Laurel noted. "If you're working on your lecture, my dad had a few choice words for me already."

"I… I wasn't gonna lecture you." Oliver insisted.

"But you think I was wrong about Sebastian?" Laurel guessed.

"I think…that you've been fooling everyone." Oliver told her. "That none of this affects you, that you can take on the world all by yourself. That you don't need anyone's help."

"Well maybe this once, I don't." Laurel countered, standing up.

"Except you do!" Oliver replied, sternly. "I know you Laurel, and this, this isn't you."

Laurel sighed in response.

"So much for no lectures." She remarked. "I just… I need a glass of water. Do you mind?"

Oliver nodded as he went off to get some water. As he came back with the glass, he was knocked out by a masked assailant. Laurel snapped to attention as the glass hit the floor. As she tried to move towards Oliver, two more men came up from behind and grabbed her. As she struggled, the man in the skull mask stepped forward.

"Hello Laurel." He greeted.

Finally, Laurel managed to get an arm free so she could elbow one of the goons in the face before grabbing the other guys arm and flipping him onto the ground. As she ran up to the man in the skull mask, he pulled out a needle and managed to inject it into Laurel's neck. It was a powerful sedative that managed to knock her out almost immediately.

…

Some time later, Oliver regained consciousness and sat up immediately. He looked around the apartment, but found no sign of her, or the attackers. What he did find though, was a message on the wall saying "Tell Green Arrow Starling Cannery". He quickly took out his phone and dialed Felicity.

"It's me. Someone came after Laurel."

" _Do you know where they took her?"_

"Yeah, I have a pretty good idea." Oliver replied before bolting out the door.

…

At the cannery, Laurel regained consciousness herself, slowly getting to her feet. Surprised she wasn't bound in anyway, she walked around looking for any sign of her kidnapper. As she looked, she caught a glimpse of the man's signature skull mask lurking in the shadows.

"If that mask is supposed to scare me, it's not working." Laurel told him, walking towards him. "All it's doing is confirming what I've known for a while now."

As she rounded the corner, she was surprised to see no sign of the masked man.

"You're one sick son of a bitch, Sebastian." She called out, moving further into the cannery.

"30,000 years ago, masks invested their wearers with authority." The man informed. "Like a god."

"You're insane." She remarked.

"I'm not the one making drug-addled, unsubstantiated accusations against Starling's favorite son." He mocked.

"My accusations are anything but unsubstantiated, otherwise I wouldn't be here." Laurel threw back. "I know the truth, and others will to. I promise you that."

"You found out nothing. "The skull masked man retorted, grabbing her by the neck from behind. "You know nothing."

Just then, an arrow zoomed past them, imbedding itself in the wall.

"Get away from her!" Green Arrow yelled. "Or I will put. You. Down."

The two turned to see Green Arrow standing on a ledge over them with an arrow aimed at the masked man.

"Ah, the hero coming to save the day." He joked. "And to think a few short months ago, you were trying to have him arrested."

"You wanted me here." Arrow reminded. "I'm here. "Now let. Her go."

"No." He decided, tossing Laurel aside and drawing his gun. "I think she should witness this."

Arrow quickly shot the gun out of his hands before leaping down and duking it out with him. The fought relentlessly as they continued down a hallway. Despite Arrow having the superior skill, the masked man still put up an effort, blocking a few of Arrows attacks and even landing a few hits of his own. However, it still wasn't enough to keep the Emerald Archer at bay, as he easily kicked the masked man into some pipes before leaping into the air and bringing his bow down on him, sending him stumbling back. The two continued their fight, with Arrow seemingly coming out superior as he landed more hits that he took. After dodging a punch from the masked man, Arrow spun around ready to strike him, only for the masked man to have vanished.

Arrow quickly took off down the hallway in search of him. As he searched, the masked man sprung from behind and tackled him to the ground. The masked man then grabbed hold of Arrow's arm and tried to twist it. Thinking fast, Arrow pulled out an arrow from his quiver and stabbed the masked man in the leg. As he cried out in pain, Green Arrow punched him in the face and rolled over to his bow. As he picked it up and got to his feet, the masked man pulled out a second gun from a leg holster and aimed it at Arrow. Before he could fire though, someone shot him from behind. He dropped to the ground, revealing Laurel holding the discarded gun from earlier. She walked over to Green Arrow as they stood over the man's dying body.

"Take off his mask." She requested. "I have to know for sure."

Arrow obliged as he knelt over and removed his mask, revealing him to be, of all people, Officer Daley. Laurel was shocked, barely believing how off base she really was. Daley let out a small sick grin before finally breathing his last breath, leaving two shocked and confused heroes in his wake.

…

Later that night, Laurel was back at the SCPD, giving her statement on everything that had happened. As she sat with a blanket around her shoulders and a cup of coffee in her hand, her father came up to her.

"Hey, Sweetheart." He said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Laurel let out. "Guess I was wrong. Daley was behind the whole thing."

"Makes sense." Quinten replied. "Son of a bitch volunteered for the raid that got Hilton killed. And we found the accelerant that he used to torch the Langford Institute in his apartment."

"I was… so sure it was Sebastian." Laurel lamented.

"Yeah well, that's the thing." Quinten told her. "The thing that dulls the pain, can also cloud the judgement."

Laurel turned towards her father in masked irritation, knowing she couldn't convince him of the truth.

"Can we have a minute?" Adam asked as he stood behind them.

"Yeah." Quinten replied before walking off, leaving the two alone.

Adam leaned against a wall as the two looked at each other in silence.

"Are you here to say I told you so?" Laurel asked.

"We're dropping the possession charges." He informed. "And you won't be charged with Daley's shooting. It was clearly self-defense."

"You don't seem that thrilled." Laurel noted.

Adam sighed before speaking again.

"The DA's office has a generous severance package." Adam told her.

"What?!" She let out, standing up. "Wait, let me explain this to DA Spencer, I can tell her everything!"

"This isn't coming from Spencer." He told her. "This is me. I'm the one who hired you. I'm sorry, but you're done."

With that, he left, leaving Laurel more devastated and defeated than she'd ever been before.

…

Back at the Arrow Cave, Oliver walked past Diggle and Felicity as he put his bow away.

"You ok, man?" Diggle asked.

Oliver paused a bit before answering.

"I don't know." Oliver finally replied. "It's this thing that's happening with Laurel."

"I heard." Diggle said. "Must be hard to believe what she's going through."

"You're right John, it is." Oliver confirmed, turning towards him. "I can't accept that Laurel's accusations were because of some drug filled fit."

"What do you mean by that?" Diggle asked.

"I was starting to think that Laurel was… something else." Oliver told him.

"And you might be right." Felicity chimed in. "I looked into Laurel's finances like you asked, nothing interesting at first, until I saw she bought a train ticket to Central City not long after the Undertaking."

"So?" Diggle asked. "Laurel's mother lives out in Central City. Nothing strange about that."

"That's what I thought," Felicity responded. "Until I noticed the date. Three days before the S.T.A.R. Labs Particle Accelerator exploded."

The news was a surprise to both of them, despite Oliver's suspicions.

"So… Laurel's a metahuman?" Diggle asked.

"So it seems." Oliver replied. "I and I have a pretty good idea on which one."

…

Back at her apartment, Laurel sat alone in the dark, frustrated with everything that had happened. Finally, she decided that a night of patrolling the town would help alleviate her foul mood. As she went to her room, she was shocked to see Green Arrow standing there.

"Hello Laurel." He greeted.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. "Come to tell me I'm crazy too?"

"I don't think you're crazy, Laurel." Arrow replied. "I think you're something else. Or rather, 'someone' else."

Laurel raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" She questioned.

"I mean, I know you were in Central City the night the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator exploded," Arrow told her. "I know you dropped out of the anti-vigilante task force at the same time the Black Canary agreed to work with me-"

"Wait, you think I'm her?" Laurel. "What would make you think-"

"I know about the cut on your arm." Arrow continued. "The same one I gave to her."

Laurel fought the urge to clench her arm and continued to stand her ground.

"So I cut my arm, that doesn't mean I'm some… vigilante." Laurel continued. "And even if I were, you really gonna judge me?"

"I didn't come here to judge you, Laurel." Arrow insisted.

"Good, cause I can take it from my father, and from Oliver, but I won't take it from you!" Laurel told him. "Because despite all we've been through, you don't know me. Not really."

Arrow was taken slightly a back by Laurel's verbal assault s Laurel turned his back to him. After a bit of silence, he came to a decision before speaking again.

"I know you better than you think Laurel." He said, his voice no longer distorted.

Laurel perked up upon hearing the voice, recognizing it all too well. She turned back around to see Green Arrow still standing there, but now with his mask off and his hood pulled back, revealing the last person she expected to see wearing that hood.

"Ollie?" She let out.

…

Not that much later, Oliver and Laurel were in the arrow cave, with Laurel still in awe of the recent revelation.

"All this time," She let out, looking around the cave. "I never even thought…"

"I went to a lot of lengths to keep my secret." Oliver admitted.

"But you were gonna tell me, weren't you?" Laurel realized. "The night of the Undertaking?"

"I wanted to tell you for a lot of nights." Oliver admitted.

"Did… Tommy know?" Laurel asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Oliver confirmed. "I was with him when he died."

Laurel let out a breath in response.

"I'm happy for that…" She replied. "And I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Oliver asked, confused.

"For blaming you." Laurel answered.

Oliver then pieced it together.

"That's what you were after me, wasn't it?" Oliver replied. "Because I couldn't get to Tommy in time?"

"Yeah, but it was just an excuse for my guilt." Laurel told him. "You told me to get out of the Glades, but I didn't listen. I went back to CNRI to get some stupid files. Tommy got me out, but got stuck inside when the building came down. I went back inside, and saw him lying there on the ground. And I saw you too, leaving. I blamed myself for Tommy and I took it out on you."

"You know I'd trade my life for his in an instant." Oliver reassured.

"I know, I know." Laurel quickly replied.

"So… how'd you become the Black Canary?" Oliver inquired. "I know you got that scream from the Particle Accelerator, but why go to Central City in the first place?"

Laurel paused for a moment before responding.

"After the Undertaking, the world just seemed to be falling apart." Laurel explained. "Tommy died, CNRI was destroyed, even you left. I tried to make the pain go away any way I could…"

"Including taking your Dad's pills?" Oliver guessed.

"One time!" Laurel insisted. "And I felt like crap the next morning anyway. I felt like I had to get away from everything. So, I went to Central City for a while, to get my life straightened out. Ironically enough, I ended up at a bar one night. Then this… bright light washed through the building, breaking glass and shaking everything. So I screamed… and that scream brought down the wall."

Oliver was completely taken in by the story being told to him.

"Once I realized what I could do, I thought I could put it to some good use." Laurel continued. "try to help people. Kinda hypocritical I admit. I criticize your work as a vigilante, yet turn right around and do the same thing as the Black Canary."

"I never saw it that way." Oliver replied.

"I'm not even that great a hero." Laurel dismissed. "I was wrong about Sebastian Blood, and I pretty much just killed my career and reputation."

"I don't think that-"

Oliver was cut off by Diggle and Felicity entering into the cave, both of which shocked to see Laurel in there with him.

"Oh." Felicity let out. "I didn't realize we had company."

"Neither did I." Diggle remarked.

"Guys, it's ok." Oliver insisted. "Laurel can be trusted. We were right about her."

"She's a meta human?" Felicity asked.

"I'm the Black Canary." Laurel answered.

"Oh." Felicity let out. "Wow. That's… pretty cool."

As Felicity walked over to Laurel to talk, Oliver walked over to Diggle.

"I knew you wanted to follow up on Laurel, but inviting her down here?" Diggle spoke up.

"It was an on the spot decision." Oliver admitted. "But I still stand by it. You were right though."

"About what?" Diggle asked.

"I do have a blind spot when it comes to Laurel." Oliver relented. "I always have, and I probably always will."

"Maybe." Diggle replied. "But I guess that's why we fight alongside friends."

"To watch our blind spots." Oliver finished. "Thanks for having my back."

"Always glad to have it." Diggle replied happily. "So what do we do now? Daley's dead and the threat's over."

"I don't think so." Oliver voiced.

"What do you mean?" Laurel asked, turning to him.

"I mean that I think it's a little suspect that Daley went after you were digging into Blood's past." Oliver responded. "And that Laurel's tests gave back positive despite not taking drugs in months."

"You think Blood's still the man in the skull mask?" Felicity pieced together.

"At this point, I'm having a hard time believing it myself." Laurel admitted.

"Maybe, but I still think the man in the skull mask is still out there." Oliver responded. "Meaning we haven't seen the end of the Mirakuru threat."

"Mirakuru?" Laurel asked.

"Japanese super soldier serum." Felicity answered. "Gives people unbelievable strength."

"That's what turned Cyrus Gold into that monster." Laurel realized. "Has anyone else been affected by it?"

"Just one." Oliver answered, turning to a monitor screen and seeing Roy Harper.

…

In the club, Roy was taking out some excess beer as Oliver walked up.

"Hey," He said. "Slow night?"

Roy just ignored him as he walked past.

"Something I said?" he asked.

"Don't take it personally." Thea replied, sitting in one of the booths. "He won't even make eye contact with me."

"Something happen?" Oliver inquired.

"He… put a guy in the hospital." Thea told him.

Oliver was caught off guard by that revelation as he walked closer to her.

"He's a little stingy with the details, but…" Thea continued. "You should have seen him. I don't understand how any human could have done that to another. Each day he becomes more and more like somebody… I don't even know. He won't even listen to me."

"I think I know someone he'll listen to." Oliver reassured.

…

In Sebastian Blood's office, he and a few of his men walked inside to inform Slade of their progress.

"It's done!" he called out. "They think it was all Daley. He sacrificed himself for our cause."

"A good start." Slade replied from seemingly nowhere. "but the magnitude of your negligence requires a greater sacrifice."

Just then, an unseen force came out of nowhere and kicked Blood across the room. A blade then sprung out and sliced through his men's legs and throats, killing them instantly. As Blood tried to get up, a sword was placed at his neck, holding it was someone in massive body armor with grenades on a belt across the chest, and an orange and black mask with tassels on the end and an eyehole on the orange side.

"Your incompetence has now cost you four lives, alderman." He told him, before taking off his helmet and revealing himself to be Slade. "Fail me again, and yours will be the fifth."

Slade then pulled the blade away, causing Sebastian to drop to the ground as Slade walked out.

…

In the back alley of Verdant, Roy just finished placing his last barrel in a pile when suddenly, a familiar flechette imbedded itself in the wall behind him. He turned around and walked over to it.

"If that was supposed to go through my other leg, you missed." Roy remarked.

"You seem to be healing pretty well." Arrow noted, walking over to him.

Roy then spun around and tried to punch him, only for Arrow to dodge the attack. Roy then barreled at him, only for Arrow to move out of the way and Roy to punch clean through a brick wall.

"You're stronger, you heal faster, but you're not in control." Arrow listed off. "The serum you were exposed to changes your body, but it also warps your mind."

"How do you know so much about it?" Roy asked.

"I've seen it before." Arrow answered. "It twists men. Turns them into someone they don't recognize. Someone dangerous."

Roy shuddered at the thought.

"Maybe you should put another arrow through me." Roy suggested. "This time through my heart."

"There's another way, Roy." Arrow suggested. "I can teach you…to control your new ability… and to control yourself. Let me help you"

Roy paused for a moment before responding.

"When do we start?"

 **What? You thought I had forgotten this story? Hardly. I've just been distracted with other projects and stories that this one kinda got lost in the shuffle. Don't worry, I am still dedicated to this story and plan to finish it, especially now that Laurel is part of Team Arrow. I know some people wanted Laurel to unmask Oliver first, and while that would have been cool, it's just not how it played out in my story. She was too preoccupied with Blood and that mystery. Still, now that all cards are on the table, I suspect interesting things about to happen.**


	14. Tremors part 1

At Iron Heights Prison, a guard brought in the prisons latest guest., already decked out in a prison jumpsuit.

"Got a new customer for you." The cop told him. "The genius robbed a convenient store across from a police precinct."

"Not the smartest plan." The guard commented as the prisoner walked through the metal detector.

To the surprise of both the cop and the guard, the metal detector started going off as he walked through to the other side.

"Bum knee." The prisoner responded as the cop walked up. "Had it replaced a few years ago."

"Well then I guess we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way." The cop remarked. "Arms up."

…

After the security check, the prisoner was taken to a cell that was currently being occupied by Bronze Tiger.

"Got your new bunk mate!" The cop announced. "Play nice."

The cop opened the cell and put the prisoner inside. He then closed the door and walked off, leaving the two alone.

"Ben Turner?" The prisoner spoke. "Tonight, midnight. Redwood Drive and Larkspur Avenue."

"The hell are you talking about?" Bronze Tiger asked.

"Redwood and Larkspur," The prisoner repeated. "rooftop. Be there."

"I don't know if you've looked around, but we don't exactly get in and out privileges here." Bronze Tiger remarked.

"My son is with him mother." The prisoner continued. "I won't get to see him anyway. This way he's set. I do this, he gets the money."

Bronze Tiger slowly sat up on his bed, questioning what his new cellmate was talking about.

"Do what?" He asked.

The prisoner then started pushing on parts of his arms, legs, and soon his chest. As he pushed, blades began poking out beneath the skin. As Bronze Tiger watched, he saw that these blades were the pieces of his usual claws.

"What's going on down there!" A guard called out, walking past.

As he came up to his cell, he saw the prisoner lying on the floor presumably dead.

"Crap." He let out, reaching for the keys.

He finally unlocked the door and entered the cell to check on the prisoner.

"The hell did you do?" The guard asked.

"I didn't do anything." Bronze Tiger reassured, finishing assembling his claw.

As the guard continued to check on the prisoner, Bronze Tiger used his claw to slash the guards throat, causing him to drop to the ground dead. Once the guard was killed, he grabbed his keys and made his escape.

…

As promised, Green Arrow got to work training Roy. Implementing the tactics that made him the man he is today, including slapping a bowl of water.

"Again!" Arrow instructed.

Roy obliged and slapped the bowl again.

"You know, I slapped water out of a bowl yesterday." Roy told him. "And I slapped water out of a bowl the day before."

"Then you must be getting pretty good at it." Arrow remarked, walking around him.

"Yeah, I can't wait to be attacked by a dog dish." Roy joked.

"That's how an archer builds arm strength." Arrow explained.

"I'm not sure if you've been paying attention," Roy spoke up. "But strength isn't my problem."

"No, controlling it is." Arrow replied, stopping in front of him. "Again."

Roy just sighed before punching straight through the bowl, shattering it, and through the table.

"And that… is how you put a guy in the hospital last week." Arrow reminded.

Roy help up his shaking hand before hiding it in his pocket.

"H-how'd you know about that?" Roy questioned. "It's none of your business."

"You made it my business when you agreed to let me help you." Arrow countered. "I knew someone like you. Someone injected with the Mirakuru. He was my friend, but it warped his mind to the point where I didn't even recognize him anymore."

"Who was this guy?" Roy asked. "How come I've never heard of him? Or that Mirakuru?"

Arrow just remained silent, much to Roy's frustration.

"Is there anything you can tell me about him?" Roy pressed.

"Yeah…" Arrow finally spoke. "I had to put an arrow through his eye."

…

In the Arrow cave, Felicity was working at her computers while Laurel and Diggle were sparring with practice sticks. The two kept a fairly constant pace as they smacked sticks back and forth.

"You're pretty good." John complimented.

"Thanks." Laurel replied.

The pace continued to pick up steadily, and Diggle managed to smack Laurel across the face. She winced in pain as she stepped back.

"You alright?" Diggle asked.

"Yeah." Laurel replied. "Just got me good."

"Gotta keep a pretty fast pace with these." Diggle told her.

"So I've noticed." Laurel replied, standing back up and starting the sparring match again.

Their speed continued to steadily progress until Diggle took another swing at her. This time, she was quick to dodge it and return with a smack to the face of her own.

"Fortunately, I pick up quick." She remarked, slinging a stick over her shoulder.

As Diggle was clutching his face, Oliver came into the cave and immediately got to work on the salmon ladder.

"So I'm guessing the training with Roy isn't going very well?" Laurel asked.

"Not at all." Oliver reported.

"I don't know the kid well," Diggle voiced. "but he seems to be five kinds of angry."

That might be putting it mildly." Laurel commented.

"Roy was mad at the world before he was injected with the Mirakuru." Oliver told them. "Now it's been amplified."

"You sound like you've seen this before." Laurel noted.

"Oliver encountered this stuff on Lian Yu." Felicity told her. "Apparently."

"Really?" Laurel responded.

"I couldn't handle those injected with it before," Oliver admitted. "but I know more now, and I'm not gonna make the same mistake with Roy."

"Yeah, that's not vague at all." Laurel remarked.

"That's something you're gonna have to get used to." Diggle told her.

Just then, a beeping noise went off on one of the computers.

"What's that?" Oliver asked, leaping off the ladder.

"Iron Heights." Felicity reported. "Due to their low security post-quake I thought it'd be a good idea to keep an eye on their internal communications for a while."

"You hacked into a prison system network?" Oliver questioned.

"Is that judgement I'm hearing?" Felicity asked.

"Pride." Oliver answered.

Felicity just smiled as she returned to her work.

"Looks like they just put out a bolo for Ben Turner." She reported.

"Who?" Laurel asked.

"Bronze Tiger." Oliver answered. "A mercenary who helped China White steal FEMA supplies. I met him the same night you introduce your, 'other self'."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Laurel said a little embarrassed. "So he got out?"

"Killing ten guards along the way." Felicity added.

"Think that would have made the news." Diggle remarked.

"Well, Iron Heights is better at keeping secrets than inmates these days." Felicity replied.

"Any idea where he's heading?" Oliver asked.

"No, but I'll get looking." Felicity reported.

As Felicity typed away, Laurel's phone started going off. She took it out and saw it was Quinten who was calling her. She just sighed in irritation before turning it off.

"You really think it's a good idea to ignore him?" Oliver asked.

"I wouldn't if I wasn't convinced he was only calling to try and get me help I don't need." Laurel replied.

"Well, he doesn't know that." Oliver responded.

"Well it's not that I can tell him that." Laurel countered. "Dad maybe alright working with the Green Arrow, but finding out his daughter is on the streets in a mask…"

"Right." Oliver relented. "Just… try to work with him. Maybe give him some reason to not worry. Tell him you're making progress."

"Well as it happens," Laurel replied. "I happen to have a job interview coming up. With Joanna's new firm."

"See?" Oliver responded. "Progress."

…

On the rooftop described to him by his cellmate, Bronze Tiger arrived and held his claws to the neck of a man in a business suit standing there.

"Tell your boys to take a walk." He told them.

"Leave us." The man told them.

"Tell then to leave their weapons." Bronze Tiger added.

The man nodded, telling them to leave their weapons on the ground before leaving. Bronze Tiger let the man go so they could speak to him face to face.

"Thanks for the early release," Bronze Tiger spoke. "Thought about skipping town, but… I'm curious. Why would someone break a stranger out of prison?"

"Because I wish to hire you for a job." The man told him. "I need you to help my men retrieve a certain item."

He then pulled out a piece of paper, containing what the item exactly is.

"You know it?" He asked.

"Yeah." Bronze Tiger answered. "You know what you're messing with here? It won't be cheap."

"Price won't be a problem." The man reassured

"You know this thing can kill hundreds of people, right?" Bronze Tiger replied.

"No Mr. Turner." The man corrected. "It will kill thousands."

…

The following night, a knock at Laurel's door caused her to walk over and open it, revealing her father on the other side.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." She greeted back. "Didn't expect you to stop by."

"Well you weren't returning my calls, so I thought this was the only way we could talk." Quinten remarked.

"Been busy." She replied. "Come on in."

He did so, noting the messy state of her apartment.

"I see you're going for that lived in look." Quinten noted.

"Can't really afford a housekeeper without a job." She joked. "Though I may have made some headway with that."

"Really?" Quinten said in surprise.

"Got in touch with Joanna's new firm." She told him. "My interview's tomorrow."

"That's… great." Quinten told her. "Glad to hear it."

"Forgive me for being suspicious," Laurel responded. "But I'm hoping you didn't come here just to check up on me."

"No, of course not." Quinten reassured. "I came by because I miss you, Laurel."

Laurel took a seat on the couch as Quinten continued.

"For the longest time it was just you and me." He told her. "No matter how bad either of us were doing we didn't disappear on each other. You're my family and… well, I miss my family."

Laurel paused for a moment, taking in her father's words.

"So, how about we have dinner?" He offered. "Just you and me."

"… Sure." Laurel agreed. "That be great."

…

Across town, Arrow was demonstrating some moves on a practice dummy for Roy.

"Now you." He instructed, finishing up. "Go slowly.

Roy slowly walked over to the dummy, looking it over. He then started punching erratically at it, much to Arrow's irritation.

"Stop!" He ordered. "This is not about learning to throw a punch. It is about learning to control your strength."

Roy let out a sigh and went through Arrow's motions slowly.

"First water slapping, now this." Roy griped. "When are you gonna run out of ways to make me look stupid."

Raising his voice with those last few words, Roy punched the top of the dummy clean off.

"All I'm learning is new ways get pissed off." Roy continued. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm already good at that."

"There's nothing wrong with anger Roy." Arrow told him. "Anger is energy. But you need to channel it in a positive way.

"How about putting the hurt on guys going after the city?" Roy suggested.

"Too soon." Arrow shot down.

"Get me out there with you." Roy insisted. "Just one night. it would make this a lot easier to take."

…

Meanwhile, Laurel and Quinten walked down the street towards whatever place Quinten had in mind.

"So where are we going?" Laurel asked. "I'm starving."

"It's this little hole in the wall I found." Quinten told her. "Over here."

The two went into the building, only for Laurel to find that it wasn't a restaurant, but a support group meeting. All she could do was laugh it off before turning to leave.

"Laurel, wait." Quinten insisted, stopping her.

"Save it." Laurel replied, brushing past him. "I can't believe you pulled something like this."

"You wouldn't have come otherwise." Quinten defended following after her.

"You don't know that." She told him.

"Actually, I kinda do." Quinten replied. "Laurel, you need help."

"And you think it'll come from them?" Laurel asked, turning around to face him. "There is not one person in that room who knows what I have been through."

"Yeah, you're right." Quinten replied. "Some of them have been through worse. But for better or worse, everyone in that room, needs to be there, and you need to be there too. You're not the first person to lose someone, or to get fired over the mess in their lives, and you sure as hell ain't gonna be the last."

Laurel just sighed in response.

"Look, we're here now, so why not go in for a bit." Quinten suggested. "You don't have to share, just listen."

"I thought I made it clear I wanted to eat." Laurel told him. "Now I think I'll eat alone."

With that, Laurel walked off, leaving Quinten in the dust.

…

Back with Arrow, he continued working with Roy when he got a communication from his suit.

"Go ahead." Arrow answered.

" _SCPD network just lit up with a fresh homicide."_ Diggle reported. _"Multiple stab wounds. Like claw marks."_

" _The victim was an architect."_ Felicity added. _"Turner ransacked his place, took blueprints of his designs. One of the designs, Malcolm Merlyn's mansion. I don't know much about architecture, but I don't think it's good."_

"What would Turner want with Merlyn's house?" Arrow asked.

" _Not sure yet."_ Felicity admitted. _"All of Malcolm's holdings, including the house, are in receivership."_

"Who's that you're talking to?" Roy asked. "Oh wait, let me guess, you can't tell me that either."

"A guy I put in prison got out," Arrow answered, turning towards him. "and I have a pretty good idea where he's heading."

There was a brief silence as Arrow took a breath, about to take a massive risk.

"Do you have one of your hoodies?" Arrow asked.

"You have to ask?" Roy remarked.

…

At Merlyn's house, Green Arrow and Roy moved through the hallways, on the look out for Bronze Tiger and whatever he was after there.

"Whatever happens," Arrow instructed. "Whoever we run into do not engage."

As they walked down the halls, Roy lifted one of the countless white sheets to see some pictures on a table.

"And don't touch anything." Arrow told him.

"This is his kid, right?" Roy asked. "The guy that dies?"

Arrow was hesitant to respond, thinking back to his long time friend and the memories he had with him.

"Yes." Arrow confirmed.

"You know your way around this place pretty well." Roy commented. "You been here before?"

"Let's keep moving." Arrow decided, ignoring the question.

Just then, some metal screeching rang out, much to both of their surprise.

"What was that?" Roy asked.

"Must have come from underground." Arrow deduced. "Merlyn has a large garage. Let's go."

…

Down in the garage, a large truck backed in, allowing Bronze Tiger and several armed goons to walk inside and look around. They walked up to a massive vault where Bronze Tiger stabbed the control panel, short circuiting it. He opened it up to reveal their prize.

"What is that?" one of the goons asked.

"Looks like a prototype." Bronze Tiger deduced.

"Of what?" the goon inquired.

"The machine that killed 503 people." Bronze Tiger answered. "Merlyn's earthquake device."

It didn't take long for them to move the device onto the truck and prepare to move out.

"Ok, a simple smash and grab." Another one of the thugs commented, walking up to Bronze Tiger. "Don't see why Mr. Armitage felt we needed you."

"For that." Bronze Tiger answered, gesturing to Green Arrow and Roy entering the garage.

One look at the device and Arrow went wide eyed.

"Step away from the device!" He ordered. "You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Big machine. Makes earthquakes." Bronze Tiger listed off. "That about sum it up?"

"Do you have any idea what happens if the wrong people have it?" Arrow asked, sounding furious.

"Yeah, I get paid." Bronze Tiger remarked. "Close it up!"

As the men moved to get out of there, Arrow fired off an arrow, only for Tiger to slice it to pieces. The two wasted no time going at it, Arrow spinning behind Tiger as he tried to strike him. Bronze Tiger continued trying to slash at Arrow, but he was able to block and dodge his attacks fairly easily. Arrow easily ducked under one slice, causing Tiger to cut a hydraulics cable, allowing him to strike at the back of Tiger's leg, causing him to kneel. Tiger tried stabbing at Arrow's legs but he just moved out of the way as Bronze Tiger got back to his feet.

While all this was going on, Roy smashed the drivers seat window of the truck, and pulled the driver out, throwing him to the floor. Roy then stepped on the thug's gun while it was still in his hand, breaking the gun, and quite possibly a few fingers.

"That thing killed eight of my friends." Roy told him before just wailing on him.

Back with Arrow, he managed with hit Tiger with his bow, but Tiger quickly kicked him in the chest and quickly began making his escape. Bronze Tiger made it to the truck and began driving off. Green Arrow tried shooting at the truck but it was to no avail.

"You son of a bitch!" Roy cried out, getting Arrow's attention.

Seeing what he was doing to the man, Arrow quickly ran over to him.

"Hey!" Arrow let out, grabbing his arm. "That's enough!"

Hearing Arrow's voice seemed to be enough to snap Roy out of his rage. Sadly though, it was too late and Bronze Tiger was already gone, with the most powerful weapon in the city at his disposal.


	15. Tremors part 2

Once Oliver retuned to the cave, his irritated attitude did not go unnoticed by Diggle and Felicity.

"uh-oh. You got angry face." Felicity noted.

"What happened out there?" Diggle asked.

"Roy Harper." Oliver said plainly.

"You took him out in the field?" Diggle exclaimed.

"He wasn't listening to me, Diggle!" Oliver told him. "I'm trying to reach him, but he lost control. Then he nearly tried to kill someone, which I obviously couldn't let happen, and in the process-"

"Turner got away." Felicity predicted. "What was he there to steal? Merlyn's art collection?"

"Something a lot more dangerous." Oliver answered. "A prototype earthquake machine."

"Holy god." Diggle let out.

"Why would Turner want to destroy the city?" Felicity asked.

"He doesn't." Oliver replied, pulling out a watch. "He's a mercenary, selling his skills to the highest bidder. This watch belonged to one of the guys Turner's working with."

"Fingerprints." Felicity deduced.

"Turner's a loner." Oliver continued. "Which means that that guy works for his client."

"Fingerprints equals name, equals known associates." Felicity put together. "I'm on it."

"Oliver I get why you've taken in Roy," Diggle spoke up. "But guys like him, sometimes they're just broken. And no one can put them back together."

"I refuse to believe that." Oliver told him. "I've lived with that nightmare for five years, but if I've learned anything that can help me save Roy, it'll be worth it."

…

The next day, Roy entered Verdant to see Thea walking down the stairs towards him.

"Oh thank god you're here." She told him. "I need your help-"

"I have to talk to you." Roy cut off, walking up to her. "It's important."

"Ok." She replied, confused. "You look stressed out. Is everything alright?"

"You have to leave town." Roy told her. "Grab your mother and your brother if you can, and leave. It's just for a few days,"

"A-a reason would be nice." Thea replied.

"I need you to trust me, Thea." Roy pleaded.

"I-I do." Thea reassured. "I just… I can't just up and leave with my family without a reason."

"You have to." Roy insisted.

"Roy, you're not making any sense right now." Thea told him. "Would you just tell me what's going on?"

"Why aren't you listening to me?" Roy asked, grabbing Thea's shoulder. "I need you to listen to me."

"Roy you're-you're hurting me!" Thea pleaded.

Roy quickly let go of Thea when he saw the pain he was causing.

"I didn't… I didn't…" Roy let out, backing away. "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

"I know, uh…" Thea tried to inform.

She was unsuccessful however as Roy fled out the door in a panic.

…

Across town, Laurel entered Joanna's new law firm and knocked on the door frame, getting her old friends attention.

"Well, your work environment has definitely improved since CNRI." She commented.

The two shared a laugh as Joanna got up to hug her.

"This place is bigger than my apartment." Laurel added.

"Well, there is a limit to the glamor unfortunately." Joanna conceded walking back towards her desk. "I spend my days in document production, and answering interrogatories. Honestly it feels more like pushing papers than it does practicing law."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to talk me out of getting a job here." Laurel commented.

Joanna remained silent for a moment.

"Well then I guess you do know me better." Laurel pieced together.

"I'm sorry." Joanna told her.

"What's going on?" Laurel insisted.

"One of the partners serves on the bar associations disciplinary committee." Joanna explained. "When I sent him your resume, he… did some checking."

"T-that was a complete misunderstanding." Lauren explained. "Those things I was accused of, that's behind me now."

"I'm sorry, but… the bar is opening disciplinary proceedings." Joanna informed.

"What for?" Laurel asked.

"Conduct affecting your fitness to practice." Joanna told her.

"What?" Laurel let out. "That's… that's ridiculous."

"I know," Joanna replied. "And I'm sorry, but while this is out there… the firm can't hire you."

Laurel was near devastated by this revelation.

"Thanks… thanks for letting me know." She said turning to leave. "I have to go."

"Hey," Joanna spoke up, stopping her. "Laurel listen to me. We can fight this. I'll help you."

"I know I… I just need time to process this." Laurel told her before walking out. "I'll call you."

With that, Laurel walked out, honestly unsure what she was going to do next.

…

That night, Roy finally arrived to meet up with Green Arrow, much to his irritation.

"You're late." He chastised.

"I tried to get my girlfriend to leave town." Roy told him. "but she won't."

Arrow slowly turned towards Roy before standing up from his crouched position.

"You cannot bring her into this." Arrow told him.

"But how am I supposed to lie to her and protect her at the same time?" Roy asked. "How do you do it? How do you keep secrets from the people in your life?"

"By remembering it's the only way to keep them safe." Arrow answered.

"No, keeping them safe is what keeps them safe." Roy threw back. "Telling the people the truth. But you, you won't tell me anything. Not about the Mirakuru, this other guy. You just have me slapping water and hitting dummies."

"Roy, you're spiraling." Arrow warned. "You need to calm down."

"No, I need to save Thea." Roy replied.

Roy was about to turn and leave, but Arrow grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"That thing is out in the open because of you." Arrow reminded. "I think you've done enough."

"Let go of me." Roy demanded.

"Roy…" Arrow tried to reason.

"I said let go!" Roy repeated much harsher.

"Get control." Arrow told him. "If not for me, or for yourself, then do it for Thea."

"What the hell do you know about her?" Roy asked, pulling his arm away. "Don't you talk about her."

Roy took a swing at him, but Arrow quickly dodged it , causing him to stumble out of the way. Roy quickly turned around and tried to swing at him again, but Arrow just dodged every blow before grabbing his arm and grabbing him by the hood.

"Are you done?" Arrow asked.

More furious than ever, Roy just turned around and pushed, causing him to fly through the air and crash into a table.

"No, I'm not done." Roy declared. "I'm gonna stop this thing, and if you're gonna stop me, try. You wanna stick me with another arrow, go ahead. I heal a lot faster now, but try and stop me, and I'll show you some of that anger you're trying so hard to control."

Roy then stormed off ready to find Bronze Tiger and stop him, much to Arrow's dismay.

…

Oliver returned to the cave, hoping to find Roy and ready to vent some major aggression. What he didn't count on was seeing Laurel in the cave, wailing on a punching bag.

"Whoa," Oliver spoke up, getting her attention. "What'd the bag do to you?"

"Oliver," Laurel spoke up, turning to him. "Hey. Sorry, I was just… working out some issues."

"I know how that feels." Oliver replied, putting his bow away. "Though I wonder why you'd pick here."

"Well, my usual gym is getting refurbished," Laurel explained. "And I felt training would be a more productive outlet then drowning my sorrow in alcohol. Have you ever realized how tempting it is to have your secret lair under a night club?"

"Never thought of it that way." Oliver conceded. "So, what's got you so upset."

Laurel took a breath before replying.

"The bar association is looking into my 'questionable conduct'." Laurel answered.

"You're being disbarred?" Oliver asked in shock.

"Yeah, it looks like my law career is over." Laurel replied passively.

"Sorry about that." Oliver consoled.

"Yeah so am I." Laurel replied, turning back to the bag and resuming her workout.

"Well, if you're want," Oliver offered, unzipping the top part of his costume and taking it off. "I can help vent your frustrations."

Laurel looked back at him and a bit taken a back by Oliver's choice of words and actions.

"Uh… I'm flattered Oliver," She told him. "But we agreed to keep our relationship platonic."

"I was talking about sparring." Oliver clarified.

"Oh..." Laurel realized, mentally kicking herself. "Right. Sorry."

"If it makes you feel better, Felicity does the same thing all the time." Oliver reassured.

"Good to know." Laurel replied, walking towards Oliver.

The two took a ready stance, waiting for the other to make a move. Laurel swung first, but Oliver dodged the attack. Laurel swung twice this time, but Oliver just blocked both hits.

"Not bad." Oliver told her. "But you're telegraphing. You gotta center yourself."

"Center myself." Laurel repeated. "Got it."

Laurel then high kicked Oliver, forcing him back a bit.

"So, what's got you miffed?" Laurel asked. "Still Roy?"

"He's gone off the reservation." Oliver told her. "Looking for Ben Turner on his own."

"Gonna find him?" Laurel asked, ducking under one of Oliver's swipes.

"His focus is gonna be finding Ben Turner." Oliver told her. "We find Turner, we find Roy."

Laurel took another swing at Oliver, but he caught her arm and threw her to the ground, putting her in an arm lock.

"So, what's your real issue with this." Laurel asked. "I know you encountered it on the island, but I know it's more than that."

Oliver let out a breath.

"My time on the island… isn't something I talk about easily." Oliver told her.

"So I've noticed." Laurel replied. "Tell you what, how about we make a deal?"

"What did you have in mind?" Oliver asked.

"I get out of this hold, you tell me exactly what happened over there." Laurel proposed.

Oliver thought for a moment before responding.

"Deal." He agreed. "But only because there's no way you-"

Laurel quickly cut him off by whipping her head back, striking him in the face, and grabbing his arm, throwing him to the ground. Oliver slowly raised his head as Laurel stood over him.

"You were saying?" She remarked.

"… Slade Wilson." Oliver spoke, causing Laurel to raise an eyebrow in response.

"What?" she responded.

"The man who was injected the Mirakuru on the island." Oliver explained.

Laurel offered a hand up for Oliver, which he took as she pulled him to his feet.

"His name was Slade Wilson." Oliver continued. "He was my friend."

"Was?" Laurel picked up.

"After Slade was injected with the Mirakuru, Ivo, the scientist who was looking for the serum captured me and two others." Oliver continued. "One of them was a woman named Shado. Slade… loved Shado. When Ivo held a gun to their heads, I tried to save them, but I couldn't save Shado. I wanted to tell Slade because it would have been better coming from me."

"But he found out another way." Laurel deduced.

"If I had just told him the truth, I could've gotten through to him." Oliver lamented. "I am not going to fail Roy the same way I failed Slade."

"Oliver I understand why you're doing this," Laurel told him. "But maybe you're going about it the wrong way."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

"Last night, my dad tried to trick me into going to a support group." Laurel told him. "I get why he did it, but you can't force that kind of help. If you want to help Roy, you have to be level and understanding with him."

Oliver let out a sigh, thinking over Laurels words.

"You might be right." Oliver relented.

"Give the kid a chance." Laurel told him. "He'll come through."

"Right." Oliver replied. "Though I'm curious how you got so good at fighting. A few self defense lessons only get you so far."

"You have your past, I have mine." Laurel dismissed, starting to walk off.

"Oh no," Oliver protested, grabbing her arm. "you can't just-"

Laurel quickly grabbed his arm and flipped him to the ground again. She then leaned over and pressed her arm against his chest, pinning hm. That was about the time Felicity entered the room.

"Oliver, I-" She started to say before seeing the two of them. "Oh!"

The two looked up in surprise to see her there. Laurel immediately shot up as Oliver got to his feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt-" Felicity began to apologize.

"We were just sparring." Laurel insisted.

"What is it?" Oliver asked directly.

"Got a hit on the fingerprint." Felicity informed. "the guy worked for Milo Armitage, black market arms merchant."

"Meaning he's gonna sell the device." Oliver pieced together.

"Device?" Laurel asked.

"Turner stole a prototype earthquake machine." Oliver informed.

"What?!" Laurel let out. "With that kind of power out there-"

"I know." Oliver replied. "We need to find any indication that Armitage is in Starling."

"One step ahead of you." Felicity told them. "His ship filed a loading manifest at the Starling City Docks. I'll get you the slip number."

"Great." Oliver responded before turning to Laurel. "Still looking to vent some steam."

"Oh yeah." Laurel agreed.

…

At the docks, Bronze Tiger met with Armitage to present him with the device.

"Ten million dollars, I believe was the negotiated amount." Armitage recalled, showing him the completed transfer on his phone. "Paid in full. Congratulations, you're now in a new tax bracket."

"Just out of curiosity," Bronze Tiger spoke up. "You pay me ten million, and you get…"

"Three times that." Armitage answered.

"You already have a buyer?" Bronze Tiger guessed.

"Let's just say, I recommend you stay clear of Markovia for a few months." Armitage replied. "I believe our business is concluded."

Just then, a grappling arrow shot past them. The two looked up to see Green Arrow and Black Canary riding down the rope and landing right in front of them.

"Your's maybe," Canary told them.

"But ours isn't." Arrow added, drawing an arrow and firing at one of the men.

As Tiger made a break for it, Canary threw one of her batons at him, tripping him up. Arrow then fired another arrow at Armitage's leg, causing him to kneel over.

"Look's like your partnership didn't pan out." Arrow remarked.

"He is not my partner." Armitage told him as Canary went over to Tiger. "He is just someone I hired to do a job."

As Canary approached Bronze Tiger, he took her baton and threw it back in her face, disorienting her. He then shot up and sliced her on the arm, causing her to wince in pain. He then managed to grab her and pull her in close. Just as Arrow aimed an arrow at him, Bronze Tiger held one of his claws to Canary's neck.

"And it turns out, it was money well spent." Armitage remarked.

"Make one move, and she dies." Tiger threatened.

Arrow slowly lowered his bow and arrow and placed them on the ground. Thinking fast, Arrow quickly pulled out a flechete and threw it at Tiger's arm, causing him to cry out and loosen his grip. This allowed Canary to get free and smack him across the face. Tiger quickly stabilized himself as Canary stood next to Arrow.

"You masks don't know when to stand down." Bronze Tiger remarked.

Just then, seemingly out of nowhere, Roy darted out and rammed right into Bronze Tiger, knocking him across the pavement. As Roy walked over to him, Tiger tried slashing him across the chest, but that seemed to do nothing as Roy just smacked him again, sending him flying through the air.

Seeing that the odds were no longer in his favor, Armitage pulled out the remote to the earthquake device, much the dismay of the vigilante duo.

"Don't do it!" Arrow told him.

"You'll kill everyone here!" Canary added.

"If I don't deliver this device to my buyer in Markovia, I'm dead either way." Armitage dismissed before activating the device.

"No!" the two cried out as Armitage dropped the remote and crushed it under his foot.

Arrow immediately punched Armitage out before firing an explosive arrow at the shipping container the device was in. The blast didn't seem to dent the metal. He fired another explosive arrow, but the same results occurred.

"I don't think that's gonna work." Canary told him.

"Think your scream might open it up?" Arrow suggested.

"Maybe, but I'm afraid the sonic waves might just end up setting the thing off." Canary dreaded. "Any other ideas?"

Arrow thought for a moment, before turning to Roy, who was still wailing on Bronze Tiger.

"Roy, I need your help!" Arrow called out. "Roy, stop!"

"Son of a bitch!" Roy let out about to punch Tiger again.

"Roy I need you to stop!" Oliver cried out, running over and grabbing his arm.

Roy turned towards him, seeing that his mask and hood were down, revealing his face. Roy could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"The earthquake device is in there." Oliver told him, "The steel is military grade, it's built to withstand a bomb, but not you."

Roy still seemed to be reeling a bit.

"Think about Thea." Oliver told him. "Because she could die without your help. I know you love her… because I've seen it. Now please, save my sister. Control. Focus on Thea, cause she needs you right now."

Finally having a calm focus, Roy walked over to the container and punched a hole through the metal. Oliver stuck an explosive in the hole and they, plus Black Canary, bolted away. They dove to the ground just as the device exploded. They all slowly stood up and looked at the smoldering wreck before Roy turned back to Oliver.

"You're…" Roy tried letting out.

"Yeah." Oliver replied.

Roy then turned towards Black Canary.

"Please don't tell me you're Thea." Roy told her.

Laurel then shrugged before pulling off her mask and wig.

"Not exactly." She told him.

Roy chuckled slightly before turning back to Oliver.

"Seriously though, you saved my life last year." Roy told him. "And I don't mean from the guy who kidnapped me. I mean you… you saved me. You gave me purpose."

Roy then immediately held out his hand to Oliver, which he wasted no time shaking in response.

"We're just getting started." Oliver told him.

…

Back at the cave, Oliver was patching up Laurel's wounds as they talked with Diggle and Felicity.

"So, the secret society gets another member." Diggle remarked. "Where is he now?"

"Home." Oliver answered. "He's, uh… processing."

"When I found out who you were, I processed my way through a pint of mint chip." Felicity shared. "I stress eat."

"Good to know." Laurel replied, wincing at Oliver's stitching her up.

"Sorry." Oliver said.

"Had worse." Laurel reassured.

"Speaking of stress, hate to Monday quarterback here, especially since it's Wednesday." Felicity spoke. "didn't this all start because you were worried that Roy's marble collection was on the short side."

"She's got a point Oliver." Diggle agreed. "Roy's a loose cannon, and now he knows your secret."

"It was a split second decision," Oliver replied. "I admit, I wasn't thinking about the consequences at the time."

"Second time it's happened in as many weeks." Diggle told him. "No offense, Laurel."

"None taken." Laurel replied. "Besides, I told Oliver he needed another approach with Roy, and I think it worked."

"It did." Oliver confirmed. "Green Arrow couldn't reach Roy, but Oliver Queen could. That's gotta mean something."

…

At Iron Heights prison, Turner settled back into his cell, cursing Green Arrow and his allies. Just then, an African American woman approached the bars of his cell.

"Mr. Turner." She spoke.

Her voice got Turner's attention, making him stand up and walk towards the bars.

"I didn't know this place allowed conjugal visits." Turner joked.

"My name is Amanda Waller." She told him.

"You say that like it's supposed to mean something." Turner replied.

"To the contrary, my identity is highly classified." She informed.

"Then why are you introducing yourself to me?" Turner asked.

"I have an offer for you." She answered. "A way to work off your sentence. As it turns out, I have need of someone with your… singular qualifications."

"For what?" Turner questioned.

"For a unit I'm putting together." She elaborated.

"What kind of unit?" Turner asked, genuinely curious.

"Actually…" She began to correct. "It's more of a squad."

…

"Is this the part where you kill me because I know your secret?" Roy asked as he and Oliver walked down the steps to the arrow cave.

"You actually think I'd kill my sister's boyfriend?" Oliver asked back.

"Well you did shoot me in the leg." Roy reminded. "Forgiven, by the way."

As the two got to the bottom, Oliver stopped Roy to say something important.

"Thea." He spoke. "She can never know."

"And I'd get the feeling you would kill me if I did." Roy replied.

"Trust that instinct." Oliver confirmed.

"Ignore him." Laurel reassured as she, Diggle, and Felicity walked out. "Believe it or not, he is capable of making a joke."

"Ok… how many people know your secret?" Roy asked, surprised by the number of people present.

"Too many." Oliver answered. "But these three are the only one's that matter. John Diggle, Felicity Smoak, and you already know Laurel."

"Yeah." Roy concurred. "So does this group have a name? Like, 'Team Arrow' or something?"

"We don't call ourselves that." Oliver insisted.

"I do." Felicity spoke up. "Occasionally."

"Please stop." Oliver told her.

"Whatever." Diggle dismissed, holding his hand out for Roy to shake. "Welcome aboard."

With that, another member was added to Oliver's ranks. He soon would see this as necessity, for his darkest hour had yet to begin.


End file.
